Texas Tech basketball: Strengths and weaknesses of the 2020-21 roster

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Kevin McCullar #15 and Terrence Shannon #1 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders high five each other during the first half of the college basketball game against the Tennessee State Tigers on November 21, 2019 at United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images) /

Strength: Forward depth

Chris Beard has been attempting to assemble as many “positionless” players as he can since the moment he arrived. This year, he may have his greatest collection of such talent yet.

Not factoring in Santos-Silva given that he’s a traditional power forward who will live in the post, Tech will have six forwards between 6-foot-6 and 6-foot-8, all of whom will be capable of guarding at least three and likely four positions on the court.

What’s more, this group is similar to the guards in that they complement one another fantastically.

There are forwards like Ntambwe and Shannon who both can put the ball in the basket with ease. Ntambwe averaged 11.8 points per game as a true freshman in 2018-19 and Shannon put up 9.8 himself last year in his debut season. Both should be capable of carrying the offense at times this year, especially given the assumed improvement each will have made since the last time we saw them in action.

Defensively, you have a shutdown perimeter defender in McCullar and a potential rim protector in Tyreek Smith. We saw first-hand last year how the 6-foot-6 McCullar can put the clamps on ball-handlers and word out of the program is that the 6-foot-7 Smith has the potential to be the next great Red Raider shot-blocker given his freakish athleticism.

Additionally, Tech is bringing in two 6-foot-7 freshmen, Micah Peavy and Chibuzo Agbo, who are both expected to be significant contributors on both ends of the floor right away. While neither is likely a one-and-done talent, each arrives with a polished all-around game.

This year, we could see Beard deploy a lineup featuring as many as four of these players on the floor at once should he decide to play Ntambwe as his big man in what would be a nightmare lineup for teams to match-up with. And given the likelihood that players are likely to miss games this year due to COVID-19, there’s never been a better time to have tremendous forward depth than in 2020-21.

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