Texas Tech basketball: Preseason accolades for the Red Raider roster

Most improved player: Terrence Shannon Jr.

To suggest that sophomore forward Terrence Shannon Jr. has enough room to grow after last year to be this program’s most improved player in 2020-21 is an indication of just how high of a ceiling he has.  And if he hits that ceiling, this will be his last year as a Red Raider as he will be a sure-fire NBA Draft pick next year.

In 2019-20, the Chicago native was solid.  Starting 21 of 29 games that he appeared in, the lefty averaged 9.8 points and 4.1 rebounds per game.

However, far too often, he lacked consistency and by the end of the year, he had been replaced in the starting lineup by the ultra-steady Kevin McCullar Jr.  But still, the numbers Shannon put up were better than what some of the best players in Tech history managed as freshmen.

For example, as a true freshman, Andre Emmett averaged 7.7 points and 3.6 rebounds per game.  Meanwhile, Keenan Evans averaged just 5.6 points per game while Andy Ellis put up 9.0 p.p.g in their first seasons.

So where will Shannon’s improvement come from on the stat sheet?  It needs to be in the area of his jump shot.

Last year, he shot just 25.7% from 3-point range and he attempted only 35 shots from long range.  That’s been one of his offseason focuses and if he can shoot around 30% this year, he will be nearly impossible to guard given his explosive first step.

I’m buying into the idea of the sophomore jump for Shannon this year.  That’s why he’s my pick to lead this team in scoring at around 15 points per game.

If he proves to be that type of offensive force and his defensive effort matches his insane talent, he will be one of the best players in the nation and he will be this team’s most improved player.  That would be saying quite a lot given how well he played a season ago.