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Texas Tech basketball: Winthrop’s Adonis Arms commits to Red Raiders

By Matthew Conner

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - MARCH 19: Adonis Arms #25 of the Winthrop Eagles attempts to shoot past Justin Moore #5 of the Villanova Wildcats during the first half in the first round game of the 2021 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Indiana Farmers Coliseum on March 19, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - MARCH 19: Adonis Arms #25 of the Winthrop Eagles attempts to shoot past Justin Moore #5 of the Villanova Wildcats during the first half in the first round game of the 2021 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Indiana Farmers Coliseum on March 19, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /
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One of the best names in all of sports is now a member of the Texas Tech basketball program.  That’s because, on Saturday, Winthrop wing Adonis Arms announced his intention to play for Mark Adams and the Red Raiders in 2021-22.

A 6-foot-6 small forward/guard, the Wisconsin native announced his decision on social media and he gives the Red Raiders another versatile player who can play and guard multiple spots on the floor.

Coming off the bench in all but one game for Winthrop this past season, he averaged 10.4 points, and 4.5 rebounds per game in just 17.4 minutes of action per contest.  That’s fantastic productivity for a bench player and it’s exactly what Texas Tech needed to add to its backups corps (assuming Adams utilizes Arms as a reserve).

Arms has been rather well-traveled as a college basketball player.  After playing high school basketball in Arizona, he began his college career at Mesa Community College where he was voted team MVP in the 2016-17 season as a true freshman.

After two years there, he transferred to Northwest Nazarene University in Nampa Idaho.  After just a year at that stop, he would transfer to Winthrop where he would sit out the 2019-20 season due to NCAA transfer rules.  Now, he’s decided to play his final college season in Lubbock.

Arms’ stats suggest that he is a bit of a Swiss Army knife on the court.  In that sense, and because of his build, he may remind some Red Raider fans of former do-it-all Red Raider Justin Gray.

He shot 35.1% from 3-point range, a number that suggests he isn’t to be slept on when he has an open look from outside.   In fact, last season, he made 27 shots from behind the arc.

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Arms also came up with 20 steals, which would have been tied for fifth on the Red Raiders this season.  What’s more, he had a defensive rating (an estimate of the number of points a player gives up per 100 possessions) of 89.1.  That is better than any Texas Tech player had in 2020-21.

This news continues the run of good fortune Mark Adams has enjoyed over the past two weeks.  Arms is the fourth newcomer that the new Texas Tech head coach has added joining JUCO forward KJ Allen, Lubbock’s Trinity Christian guard Ethan Duncan (who will be a walk-on), and Dallas Baptist’s all-time leading scorer Chandler Jacobs.  What’s more, earlier this week, last season’s leading scorer, Mac McClung, took his name out of the transfer portal greatly increasing the likelihood of his return to the Red Raiders.

But the Red Raiders are far from finished when it comes to adding talent.  There’s still a need for another guard (especially a point guard) and more size in the post.

Fortunately, the questions about whether or not Adams would be able to recruit well enough to field a competitive team are starting to be assuaged.  In fact, he’s proving to be a rather shrewd collector of talent as he’s done solid work in rebuilding a roster that was at one time down to just five players.  Now, instead of being concerned, most Red Raider fans are excited to see what this new coaching staff does next on the recruiting trail.

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