Texas Tech coach Mark Adams’ first roster as head coach is taking shape.
While Texas Tech’s roster for the 2021-22 season probably isn’t fully complete yet, it’s almost there. Coach Mark Adams has been assembling plenty of talent to surround his five returning players, and that doesn’t include the possibility that Mac McClung returns after he removed his name from the transfer portal.
Clarence Nadolny, Chibuzo Agbo, Kevin McCullar, Avery Benson and Marcus Santos-Silva are joined by no less than seven fresh faces — Ethan Duncan, KJ Allen, Mylik Wilson, Chandler Jacobs, Adonis Arms, Davion Warren, and the recently committed Sardaar Calhoun. There’s still room for another big man on this roster, but it’s a group that should have no trouble being competitive in the Big 12.
One of the biggest complaints fans had about the Chris Beard era (before we all hated Beard) was the offensive scheme. Beard’s motion offense was typically very slow, and the past couple of seasons certainly had their share of scoring droughts. There just seemed to be a shortage of playmakers and a shortage of shooting on those teams.
Adams has expressed a desire to run at a faster pace, and the hiring of Barret Peery as an assistant coach signifies a desire to not just do that, but also to apply more pressure on defense to open up more looks in transition. To that end, he seems to be bringing in players who are well suited to that type of play.
The Strengths
Assuming McClung returns, Texas Tech will boast seven players who hit better than 30 percent of their three-pointers last season. Four of those are incoming transfers, and two of those drained their threes at particularly high rates (39.7 percent for Calhoun and 44.5 percent for Jacobs). That also doesn’t include incoming freshman Duncan, so this team will not be short on shooters.
The team will also boast at least five players who averaged 1.7 steals per game or better, and only one of those is a returning player (McCullar). Most of these new additions are backcourt and wing players, but in spite of that, several of them are active rebounders as well. They’re athletic and can guard multiple positions, so they fit in Adams’ defensive scheme.
The Height Problem
One of the problems last season’s Texas Tech team had — a lack of height — has not been addressed. Of all the players remaining or incoming, the tallest is 6-foot-7. A total of five players are listed at 6-foot-6, so there’s plenty of size on the wing and plenty of length. But if your “big man” is giving up three or more inches of height to those he defends, that’s going to be tough.
The problem is finding a player of that size who’s athletic enough to fit in this scheme. The perfect example of that was Tariq Owens, but those guys don’t just grow on trees. Adams’ switch-heavy defense doesn’t really allow for a plodding seven-footer to just hang around the post all the time. Opposing teams will expose that as a weakness if they can.
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Adams will surely keep on the lookout, but it’s not a death knell if he can’t find someone like that. Texas Tech held Utah State center Neemias Queta in check in the NCAA tournament, and many Big 12 teams are employing more of a positionless scheme anyway. Having a wealth of lengthy, athletic guys who are in that 6-foot-6, 6-foot-7 range seems to be the way to go.
Don’t get me wrong, having an elite rim protector like Owens would be a huge asset. But it’s not a necessity, especially if you’ve got enough length and athleticism. This is a team that should score better, defend the perimeter and create turnovers. Adams is more than capable of fielding a top defense without a prototypical big man in the middle.
On offense, having four or even five guys on the floor who can score from outside is going to really allow Texas Tech to space the floor. Many of the incoming players shoot well from the free throw line (Wilson, Jacobs, Arms, Calhoun and Warren all shot 72.8 percent or better last year), so that shouldn’t be much of a problem.
The bottom line is this is shaping up to be what we should expect a Mark Adams team to be. Pulling in one more player who gives us some height would be welcome, but at the end of the day, that’s not going to be what makes this team a winner. Creating turnovers and playing suffocating defense will be the hallmark, and we should see more offense as well. Buckle up, fans.