Texas Tech basketball: 3 players that will be x-factors this season
Terrence Shannon Jr.
For me, the biggest x-factor on this year’s team is Terrence Shannon Jr. Whether or not the sophomore takes the type of step forward that many sophomores do could be the difference between this Red Raider squad being championship-caliber or just pretty good.
Last year, the Chicago native was more than serviceable as a true freshman. In fact, at 9.8 points and 4.1 rebounds per game, he was one of the Big 12’s best freshmen.
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But his size and athleticism suggest that what we saw from Shannon a season ago was just scratching the surface of what he could become. In fact, many believe that he is a future NBA first-round pick.
Right now, opinions on where he stands as a draft prospect are all over the board. The Rookie Wire has him as the No. 54 prospect, but Bleacher Report has him as the No. 22 prospect. If he ends the year closer to where Bleacher Report has him slated than The Rookie Wire, Tech will be in phenomenal shape.
His improvement needs to come in the area of shooting the ball. Last year, the vast majority of his points came in the paint off the dribble or via dirty work such as offensive rebounds.
Meanwhile, he shot just 25.7% from 3-point range making only nine shots from behind the arc all year. While no one is asking him to be the next Davide Moretti, he does need to prove capable of hitting at a decent enough rate from outside that it will keep defenders honest.
Due in large part to his poor 3-point shooting, Shannon was just 8th on last season’s team in effective field goal percentage, a statistic that takes into account 3-point and 2-point shooting while giving more weight to 3-pointers because of their increased value. Last year, his effective FG% was just .493 while the team leader, T.J. Holyfield‘s was .574.
This year, can Shannon shoot well enough to be a .520 shooter in that regard? If so, he will certainly be one of Tech’s best players and he could play his way into the first round of the NBA Draft next summer.
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In 2020-21, the Texas Tech basketball team is as loaded on paper as any team in program history. But each member is going to have to maximize his potential for the Red Raiders to be a serious national contender. And if Kyler Edwards, Chibuzo Agbo, and Terrence Shannon step their games up, this could be a special season in Lubbock.