Texas Tech basketball: Preseason questions about the 2023-24 Red Raiders

Does this Texas Tech basketball team have enough size?

While the game of basketball has become perimeter-oriented over the past few decades, teams still have to be able to compete in the lane.  However, this year’s Texas Tech basketball team is heading into the season with less size in the post than we have grown accustomed to this program possessing.

Arizona State transfer Warren Washington is a legitimate 7-footer who will be your starting center.  Because he is the only player on the roster over 6-foot-8, it could easily be argued that he’s the most important player on the roster.

Last year, he averaged 9.2 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks per game for the Sun Devils.  With 111 career blocks, he is expected to provide the type of rim protection that this program hasn’t enjoyed since Tariq Owens set the single-season program record for blocks in 2018-19.

However, Tech fans should be concerned about what would happen if Washington were to foul out of a game early or, worse yet, miss time with an injury.  We saw last season that even having two 7-footers on your roster is sometimes not enough as both Fardaws Aimaq and Daniel Batcho missed large stretches because of injuries.

When Washington isn’t on the floor, for whatever reason, will forwards like Robert Jennings, Devan Cambridge, and Kye’Ron Lindsay (all of whom are around 6-foot-8) be able to hold their own against bigger post players?  McCasland is banking on his team being able to play well enough as a unit to be able to defend the post and rebound effectively as a team.

However, the question about size doesn’t just end with a discussion of the big men.  This team also has some small guards that will be playing huge minutes.

Both Pop Isaacs and West Virginia transfer Joe Toussaint will be factors for this team at the point guard position.  However, with both being only 6 feet, it might be tough to play them together for long stretches.

The problem is that they are the two most accomplished guards on the roster and their offensive games complement one another.  Will McCasland be willing to live with the dangers of playing such a small backcourt for the sake of scoring points?

6-foot-4 Lamar Washington will potentially be your best on-ball defensive guard after a strong freshman season on that end of the floor.  But he’s a liability on offense as he was the team’s most turnover-prone player last year.

That is the puzzle that McCasland and his staff will have to piece together.  How will the team manage when Washington is not on the floor and is there enough size at the guard positions to have a solid defensive backcourt?  This team’s lack of size in the paint and at guard will be something to keep an eye on when the season tips off.