Texas Tech basketball: High-scoring transfer has Red Raider in top 4

After seeing most of last season’s scoring punch either enter the transfer portal or test the professional waters, the Texas Tech basketball team is in the market this offseason for some players that can put the ball in the bucket.  One option could be Norchad Omier, who has announced his top four schools and listed among that group are the Red Raiders.

The native of Nicaragua played the last two seasons for Arkansas State where he put up 15.6 points per game.  That included a career-best of 17.9 ppg this past season.

What’s more, the 6-foot-7 wing is also a tremendous rebounder averaging over 12 boards per game in each of his two college seasons.  That’s also a skill that Texas Tech will look to be adding this offseason given the key losses the program is set to endure.

Between graduated forwards Bryson Williams and Marcus Santos-Silva as well as wing Adonis Armas Tech is losing over 12 rebounds per game from this past season’s team.  And if Kevin McCullar, Terrence Shannon, and Kevin Obanor don’t come back for another season, the program will lose almost 13 more boards per game.

Landing Omier would be a huge coup for the Red Raiders, who remain in the running for his services along with Miami, Georgetown, and Florida State.  He was the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year and a finalist for the Lou Henson Award, an honor presented each year to the top mid-major player in the NCAA.

Playing in 29 games in 2021-22, he scored in double-digits in all but five games.  However, one of those five games came against the Red Raiders in Lubbock when he put up just five points on 2-4 shooting.

Still, Omier had a fantastic season in his second year as a collegiate.  He scored at least 30 points in three games and he topped the 20-point mark 12 times.  But if there is one concern, it is that his two worst games of the year came against the only two major conference opponents Arkansas-State faced, Tech and Illinois.  Against the Illini, Omier managed a season-low four points while attempting just two shots.

Another concern might be the fact that Omier is not a 3-point shooter.  In fact, he is not even concerned with that aspect of the game.

This season, he attempted only three shots from beyond the arc, making one.  That’s an area in which Tech struggled in 2021-22 and adding more outside shooting has to be a priority this offseason.

Tech has already addressed that area by adding D’maurion Williams, a transfer from Gardner-Webb who shot 39.3% from 3-point range while hoisting over 200 attempts this season. But it would behoove the Red Raiders to add more outside threats before next season.

Still, Omier is the type of player that the Red Raiders would love to add.  He’s accustomed to carrying the offensive load for a team and he knows how to score.  And given what the Red Raiders could potentially lose this offseason in terms of offensive punch, Omier would be a great insurance plan.