Wreck'Em Red
Fansided

Texas Tech basketball: Five best-case scenarios for 2020-21

By Matthew Conner

LUBBOCK, TEXAS - JANUARY 25: Texas Tech Red Raiders cheerleaders stand on the court during a timeout during the second half of the college basketball game against the Kentucky Wildcats on January 25, 2020 at United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)
LUBBOCK, TEXAS - JANUARY 25: Texas Tech Red Raiders cheerleaders stand on the court during a timeout during the second half of the college basketball game against the Kentucky Wildcats on January 25, 2020 at United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 5
Next
LUBBOCK, TEXAS – JANUARY 07: Guard Kyler Edwards #0 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders looks over his shoulder during the first half of the college basketball game against the Baylor Bears on January 07, 2020 at United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)
LUBBOCK, TEXAS – JANUARY 07: Guard Kyler Edwards #0 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders looks over his shoulder during the first half of the college basketball game against the Baylor Bears on January 07, 2020 at United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images) /

Edwards becomes the next Texas Tech basketball star

Much of the offseason talk has centered around the new additions to the program, which are plentiful.  But Tech’s most experienced player (at least in terms of playing for Chris Beard) might be the key to the entire season.

Kyler Edwards is back for his junior season and all of a sudden, he’s the most grizzled Big 12 veteran on the roster.  Now, he has an opportunity to take the next step and become a true star and if he does, this team will reach its full potential.

"“I have a lot of confidence in Kyler this year, as our most experienced returner,” Beard said last month.  “A guy that I think could be one of the best guards in college basketball.”"

We often talk about the period between their freshman and sophomore years as the time in their career when players make the greatest strides.  But that didn’t necessarily happen statistically for Kyler Edwards last season.

Though his overall numbers were up significantly, that was due not as much to overall improved play but to more minutes on the court as he became a starter for the first time in his career.  In fact, his offensive rating (an estimate of the number of points produced per 100 possessions) was exactly the same last year (103.0) as it was his freshman season.

While the huge jump in overall performance didn’t happen last year for Edwards, it very well could this year in his third season in the program.  After all, that’s when one of the best players in Tech history, Keenan Evans, made his big jump.

As a junior, Evans’ scoring jumped from 8.7 points per game to 15.4 and his offensive rating went from 106.9 to 121.1.  What’s interesting is that he made those strides despite having to learn the system of a new coaching staff as his junior campaign was the debut season for Chris Beard in Lubbock.

Edwards is in his third year under Beard and there’s no doubt he knows what is expected of him.  This year, look for him to potentially make a huge jump as a player given that the current Texas Tech basketball team is built in such a way that he won’t be asked to shoulder as much of the offensive burden as he did a year ago.  And if he becomes the next version of Keenan Evans, imagine what that will do for this year’s team.

Home/Texas Tech Basketball