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

It would do wonders for Texas Tech if Kerwin Walton could be a reliable 3-point threat

There is no denying that the 3-point shot is the great equalizer in college hoops.  However, Texas Tech has struggled to keep pace in that area for quite some time.

Last year, Tech was only sixth in the conference at 34.5% from downtown.  What’s more, the season prior, when the Red Raiders reached the Sweet 16, they shot only 32.1% from 3-point range to rank 256th nationally.  Imagine what that team could have accomplished if it was able to be a top-100 team in that area.

This year, Tech could again be elite defensively.  The rangy and versatile athletes McCasland has brought into his program could allow him to deploy a suffocating defense.

However, someone is going to have to score and it would be terrific if someone other than Pop Isaacs could be a reliable 3-point option.  Of course, we just talked about how McMillan was a good outside shooter last year but imagine what this team could be if Kerwin Walton could figure out how to be a consistent contributor as well.

What makes Walton such a tease for Texas Tech fans is that he has already been an elite shooter while playing in a major conference.  In 2020-21, while a true freshman at North Carolina, he averaged 8.2 points per game while shooting 42% from deep.  He averaged 4.2 long-range attempts per game and that led to him being one of the most intriguing freshmen in the ACC that season.

However, he’s struggled since then because he simply isn’t willing or able to play defense.  Over the past two seasons, he’s struggled to see the floor because of his defensive lapses.

In fact, a season ago, he was the worst defender on the Red Raider roster according to the defensive rating metric, an average of how many points a player surrenders per 100 possessions. Anything below 100 is excellent in that category but Walton’s rating was a woeful 107.4.

Still, when he did play, he was able to hit 3-pointers at a 41.1% rate.  That’s a skill that is so valuable in college basketball.

I honestly thought that Walton would leave the program when the defensive-minded McCasland was hired.  He stuck it out though so he might as well contribute while he’s here.

At some point, Walton is going to have to decide if he wants to dedicate himself to being a decent defender so that he can see more of the court or whether he is simply content to watch games from the bench.  Hopefully, he picks the former because he has something to offer that this team could really use.