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Texas Tech basketball: St. John’s big man is transfer possibility for Red Raiders

By Matthew Conner

Jan 9, 2021; Omaha, Nebraska, USA; St. John's Red Storm forward Isaih Moore (13) shoots a reverse layup against Creighton Bluejays center Ryan Kalkbrenner (32) and guard Mitch Ballock (24) and forward Damien Jefferson (23) in the first half at CHI Health Center Omaha. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 9, 2021; Omaha, Nebraska, USA; St. John's Red Storm forward Isaih Moore (13) shoots a reverse layup against Creighton Bluejays center Ryan Kalkbrenner (32) and guard Mitch Ballock (24) and forward Damien Jefferson (23) in the first half at CHI Health Center Omaha. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports /
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For the last two seasons, Texas Tech basketball fans have been lamenting the fact that the Red Raiders have not been able to find another Tariq Owens.  Now, it appears that Mark Adams is trying to repeat program history by landing another transfer big man from St. John’s, one that might resemble Owens in stature if nothing else.

Sunday, on his Instagram account, 6-foot-10 forward Isaih Moore posted a picture of himself in a Texas Tech uniform asking his followers what they thought.   So of course, that has Red Raider fans buzzing.

Moore could be the type of big man that this program has been lacking since Owens, another St. John’s transfer, helped lead Tech to the 2019 National Championship Game.  He averaged 9.2 points and 4.8 assists per game this past season despite playing a mere 17.2 minutes per outing.

For what it’s worth, Owens averaged 8.4 points and 5.9 points per game in over 30 minutes of action the year prior to his arrival on the South Plains.  But there is one glaring difference between the two players.

In 2017-18, Owens averaged 2.8 blocks per game to lead the Big East.  Meanwhile, this past season, Moore registered just 0.7 blocks per game.

Additionally, Moore had a defensive rating of 101.4 for the Red Storm in 2020-21.  That would have been the second-worst of any player on this past season’s Red Raider squad ahead of only true freshman Chibuzo Agbo.

In other words, Moore is to be considered an offensive threat more than a defensive stopper right now.  But perhaps Adams’ tutelage could help him improve on the defensive end of the court and make him a decent rim-protector.

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Still, expecting Moore to be the type of shot-blocker that Owens was is asking a bit too much.  But he could bring some much-needed height to a program that has not started a player over 6-foot-8 for the past two seasons.

Also, he could be an offensive catalyst for a team that has lost almost all of its scoring punch from this past season.  If you look at his averages per 40 minutes played, you will see that he put up 21.4 points and 11.3 boards.  That was better than any Red Raider managed in either category per 40 minutes this season.

A South Carolina native, Moore started only seven games for the Red Storm this season.  He also missed two contests for disciplinary reasons.

He’s also a former JUCO player, which might endear him to Adams (who has spent a significant swath of his coaching career at that level of the sport).  What also makes him an intriguing prospect is that he has two years of eligibility remaining.

So keep tabs on what Isaih Moore decides to do in the upcoming days and weeks.  Though Tech was a bit late to this party, it appears that Adams and Co. have made up some serious ground and that they could be squarely in the mix to add a talented big man, one who would bring some legitimate height to a roster in desperate need of it.

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