Texas Tech basketball: What we want to see vs. Sam Houston

More consistency with the jumpers

In game one, Tech got a ton of its offense at or near the rim.  Of their 101 points, the Red Raiders had 46 in the paint and 19 on the fast break.  That’s a great way to go through life but it won’t be possible to keep up that pace in the Big 12.

That’s why, it will be worth watching to see if the jumpers fall against Sam Houston State.  Specifically, can Micah Peavy and Terrence Shannon prove to be quality jump shooters today? Because both will have to be at points this year.

When it comes to Peavy, let’s hope we get to see him attempt a 3-pointer in this contest just to see what his stroke looks like.  He did not try a long-rang shot against Northwestern State and what’s more, the vast majority of his points came on layups or putbacks as he was 7-10 from the floor.

Today, keep an eye on whether he is able to hit jumpers off the dribble as well.  His mid-range game is supposedly a strength but we didn’t see much of that on display against the Demons on Wednesday because he simply got to the rim whenever he wanted.

As for Shannon, he was 5-10 from the field and 1-3 from 3-point range.  His jump shot still looks funky as he still shoots it from chest level and kind of pushes the ball towards the basket.  It’s a shot that may remind some of former NBA forward Shawn Marion.

But to his credit, Shannon did hit a couple of mid-range shots in game one.  However, he’ll need to make more and look more comfortable doing so as the season progresses if he is to be the type of player many of us (myself included) are expecting him to be.

As the game plays out, I’ll try to keep an eye on how Tech shoots as a team on mid-range jumpers.  That’s important to monitor because this team will get plenty of looks from that area of the floor given the nature of the motion offense.  So let’s see what that looks like in game two of the year.