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Texas Tech basketball: Preseason accolades for the Red Raider roster

By Matthew Conner

AMES, IA - FEBRUARY 22: Terrence Shannon Jr. #1 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders drives the ball in the first half of the play at Hilton Coliseum on February 22, 2020 in Ames, Iowa. The Texas Tech Red Raiders won 87-57 over the Iowa State Cyclones. (Photo by David K Purdy/Getty Images)
AMES, IA - FEBRUARY 22: Terrence Shannon Jr. #1 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders drives the ball in the first half of the play at Hilton Coliseum on February 22, 2020 in Ames, Iowa. The Texas Tech Red Raiders won 87-57 over the Iowa State Cyclones. (Photo by David K Purdy/Getty Images) /
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NEWARK, NJ – DECEMBER 9: Marcus Santos-Silva #14 of the Virginia Commonwealth Rams shoots against the Seton Hall Pirates during the Never Forget Tribute Classic at the Prudential Center on December 9, 2017 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Porter Binks/Getty Images)
NEWARK, NJ – DECEMBER 9: Marcus Santos-Silva #14 of the Virginia Commonwealth Rams shoots against the Seton Hall Pirates during the Never Forget Tribute Classic at the Prudential Center on December 9, 2017 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Porter Binks/Getty Images) /

MVP: Marcus Santos-Silva

How you define the word “valuable” determines who you believe will be a team’s MVP.  Does that honor go to the most talented player?  The one with the best stats?  Or, does it go to the player who is most irreplaceable?

Using the latter of those ways of thinking, I believe that Virginia Commonwealth transfer Marcus Santos-Silva will be Tech’s Most Valuable Player.  That’s because he is the only player in the rotation who can bring his particular skillset to the table.

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If you were a fan of the way Norense Odiase played (And what Red Raider wasn’t?), then you are going to enjoy Santos-Silva.  He’s 6-foot-7, 245 pounds but, like Odiase, he plays much larger than his stature given his immense physical strength.  Therefore, he will be who Tech turns to when facing elite big men, of which there will be plenty in the Big 12 this season.

He has a career defensive rating of 89.1 (anything below 90 is elite) and he was credited with defensive win shares (an estimate of the number of wins brought to his team by his defensive play) of 2.1 last season.  To put that last stat in perspective, no one on last year’s team provided more than 1.9 in terms of defensive win shares.

Santos-Silva is also an elite rebounder.  At VCU last season, he averaged 8.9 boards per contest and that ability will be massive for a Red Raider team that is replacing its top two rebounders (Clarke and Holyfield) from a team that was poor in that regard in the first place.

But the difference between Santos-Silva and Odiase is that he is a much more adept offensive player.  He averaged 12.8 points per game last season, his second-straight year in double figures in scoring.  He’s got touch with both hands and he is a player that can generate offense on the low blocks, which is something Tech hasn’t had in quite some time.

Tech has no choice but to lean heavily on Santos-Silva in the post.  In fact, I suspect he will lead the Red Raiders in playing time.

That’s because there simply are no other players on the roster who can do what he does.  The two true big men that will come off the bench are both unknowns as Tyreek Smtih missed all of his true freshman season last year with a broken foot and 7-foot-1 Vlad Goldin is a true freshman who is likely at least a year away from playing a meaningful role.

So for that reason, Santos-Silva is my preseason MVP for the Texas Tech basketball team.  He’s one of the most important offseason transfers in the NCAA and he brings to this roster something that no other player does.  That’s what I consider especially valuable.

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