Texas Tech basketball: 5 questions to be answered as practice begins

Will the post play be improved?

One of the most frustrating realities college basketball fans have to live through from time to time is the fact that your team just can’t compete in the paint.  When that happens, it is akin to your football team not being able to stop the run or your baseball team not being able to pitch.  It’s maddening to watch other teams dominate on the glass and score almost at will in the lane.

Unfortunately, that was often what Red Raider fans had to endure in 2019-20.  Now, the question that begs to be asked is whether this version of Beard’s program will be improved in the post.

Last year, Tech was last in the Big 12 in total rebounds per conference game at just 30.1.  Meanwhile, the Red Raiders allowed conference opponents to grab 33.6 rebounds per game, which was third-most of all teams.

Will that change this year?  We certainly hope so.

To help remedy that problem, Tech has added Santos-Silva, a traditional post player who loves to mix it up physically in the post.  While at Virginia Commonwealth last season, he averaged 12.8 points and 8.9 rebounds per game.

Also, don’t sleep on Tyreek Smith.  The redshirt freshman will return to action this year after missing all of last season with a broken foot.  The 6-foot-7 former four-star recruit is an elite athlete and rim-protector who may remind Red Raider fans of Zach Smith, the program’s second all-time leader in blocked shots.

The wildcard will be 7-foot true freshman center Vlad Goldin.  Arriving from Putnam Science Academy as an under-the-radar recruit, he is the Holy Red Raider over 6-foot-9 and he could be asked to play some meaningful minutes this year being that there are a number of excellent big men in the Big 12.

Last season, the Red Raiders essentially had just 6-foot-8 forward T.J. Holyfield as their only post presence.  At times, they asked 6-foot-6 Chris Clarke to help out down low and he was adequate for a man of his size.  But this year, it appears that Beard has more true post options at his disposal.  Now, we will wait to see if that leads to better play close to the basket.