Texas Tech basketball: Red Raiders that will be X-factors in 2023-24

Texas Tech needs point guard Lamar Washington to take a step forward

Another guard that should intrigue Red Raider fans is Lamar Washington.  Reports from the offseason have indicated that he has taken a step forward as a sophomore and if that translates to the court, he could really be an asset to McCasland.

Last year, the 6-foot-4 guard from Portland, Oregon was thrown into the fire right away as a true freshman.  The results were often mixed.

The good news is that Washington proved to be one of the best defenders on the team.  His length and dedication to playing defense earned him plenty of playing time under Mark Adams as he averaged 15.3 minutes per game.

However, Washington was an offensive liability.  In fact, at times, he was an absolute disaster on that end of the court.  Averaging 1.4 turnovers per game, he was sloppy with the ball.  In fact, he led the team in turnovers per 40 minutes at 3.7.

On three instances he turned the ball over at least five times last year.  That included a season-high of six against Oklahoma State in just 20 minutes of action.  That night, he also went scoreless in a game that he started, one of only three starts he would make on the season.

The simple fact is that Washington has to improve on offense if he wants to be a true building block for Texas Tech.  He was only a 23.3% shooter from 3-point range and he was last on the team in points per 40 minutes played at just 8.8.

Tech needs to be able to put Washington on the floor because of his defensive ability.  However, he has to refine his offensive game and prove that he can be trusted to handle the ball because he can’t be as ineffective on offense as he was in his first season as a Red Raider.