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Texas Tech basketball: Red Raiders finally add some size to the roster

By Matthew Conner

LUBBOCK, TX - JANUARY 02: General view of a rack of Under Armour basketballs taken before the game between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Texas Longhorns on January 02, 2016 at United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock, Texas. Texas Tech won the game 82-74. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images)
LUBBOCK, TX - JANUARY 02: General view of a rack of Under Armour basketballs taken before the game between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Texas Longhorns on January 02, 2016 at United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock, Texas. Texas Tech won the game 82-74. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images) /
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All offseason, Texas Tech basketball fans have watched as the new head coach Mark Adams and his staff have added wing player after wing player.  But with each new face that came to Lubbock, fans continued to ask “where’s the size?”.

On Thursday, the Red Raiders finally answered that question by adding 6-foot-11 Arizona transfer Daniel Batcho.  The move was announced on Twitter by the native of France who has considerable international experience.

Because of knee surgery, Batcho did not play for Arizona this past season as a true freshman.  Thus, he still has four years of eligibility remaining and that’s another aspect that makes him unique from most of Tech’s offseason additions.

His coming-out party as a high school prospect came just prior to his commitment to the Wildcats.  Before joining Arizona, he averaged 14.8 points, 11.3 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks per game with CFBB Paris in last year’s Adidas Next Generation Tournament, earning MVP honors.

As a recruit, he was the No. 20 center in the class of 2020 according to 247Sports.  A 4-star prospect, he held offers from Miami, Virginia Tech, Arizona State, and Creighton in addition to Arizona.

"“He’s aggressive,” former Arizona head coach Sean Miller said last May. “He’s a very good defensive rebounder, adept at FIBA basketball where pick-and-roll and playing up and down, being able to defend pick-and-rolls, those are things that he’s been doing for a number of years. Hungry guy, a guy that loves the game. Really excited to have him.”"

With a roster that prior to Thursday was comprised solely of players 6-foot-7 or shorter, we knew that Texas Tech would look to add some size.  That has been accomplished through this signing but what we don’t know is whether or not the young big man is ready to play a significant role for the 2021-22 season.

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After all, he’s yet to appear in a college game.  Thus, it is fair to assume that Tech will remain in the market for another, more proven, post player.

Many believe that UTEP transfer Bryson Williams, a 6-foot-8 forward who averaged over 15 points and 7 rebounds per game last year, is Tech’s top choice.  However, he’s also strongly considering Texas as well as returning to the Miners for his final season.

Finding highlights of Batcho in action is not easy.  This video has a few clips from the Adidas tournament mentioned above.

In them, it looks as if Batcho moves very well for a player of his size.  He runs the court with ease and appears to have nice footwork around the rim.

But what we don’t see are any shots of him shooting the ball away from the goal.  That’s something Tech needs to add in a big man given that returning post player Marcus Santos-Silva lives solely in the lane as an offensive player.  Therefore, for Tech to put another big man on the court with Santos-Silva, that big man will have to be able to get some offense away from the rim as to not clog down the offense.

This makes the seventh transfer the Red Raiders have taken this offseason.  But Batcho is the first to bring some serious height to the table.  Now, the questions that must be answered are whether he is healthy and whether he can actually play.

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