Texas Tech basketball: 3 players that may benefit from Ntambwe’s departure

Goldin may be needed to provide size

Ntambwe’s defection means that there is now only one player on the roster over 6-foot-7, Vlad Goldin, who stands 7-foot-1.  Now, it’s going to be interesting to see if the true freshman is going to be asked to play some meaningful minutes once he returns.  And it appears like that return is imminent.

"Speaking on his weekly radio show on Monday night, Beard said, “X-rays came back negative and all so he’s back practicing now.  Still a little sore, got a brace on…was active for [Sunday’s] game so we look for Vlad to get his first minutes as a Texas Tech Red Raider soon.  I predict he’ll play in these next games coming up.” More from Wreck'Em Red Texas Tech football: Red Raider fans need to know about these Mountaineers Texas Tech football: Red Raiders land first commit for class of 2025 Texas Tech football: Why have the Red Raiders struggled on the road under McGuire? Texas Tech football: Why the Red Raiders can compete for a Big 12 title Texas Tech football: Plenty of questions remain as conference play arrives"

Vlad needs to get some minutes soon if he’s going to be a factor this season.  That’s because Big 12 play arrives more quickly than ever in 2020-21 and it seems highly likely that he will be needed against some of the elite frontcourts in this league.

For instance, it is hard to imagine Tech being able to battle West Virginia’s tandem of 6-foot-10, 255-pound Derek Culver, and 6-foot-9, 260-pound Oscar Tshiebwe without some help from Goldin.  Meanwhile, the Longhorns have five players over 6-foot-9 that they can throw into the mix.

Last year, rebounding was a problem for the Red Raiders, especially against teams with elite size.  We don’t know if Goldin will be able to help in that regard but it isn’t crazy to think that a 7-footer could be of some use on the glass.

At UNLV, Ntamwe was a decent rebounder.  He had five games with double-digit boards and seven more games with at least seven.  Thus, he was going to be an important factor in that aspect of the game for the Red Raiders this year.

But with Ntambwe now off the team, Tech will have to find some extra size and rebounding somewhere and that could come from Goldin.  Hopefully, when the big Russian makes his debut, he will prove ready to give the Red Raiders some of what Ntambwe could have on the glass.