Exploring Texas Tech basketball starting lineup possibilities

The Texas Tech football team is enjoying an open date on Saturday. Thus, it is the perfect time to spend a little bit of our mental equity on the Texas Tech basketball team, which begins its season in less than a month.

This year, head coach Grant McCasland's program hopes to improve upon a successful first year for McCasland. Of course, last season, the Red Raiders went 23-11 overall and 11-7 in Big 12 play. After finishing fourth in the Big 12 regular-season race despite numerous injuries, Tech reached the NCAA Tournament but was quickly dispatched by eventual Final Four participant NC State.

Expectations are higher than that this year. Now that McCasland has had a chance to put his fingerprints all over just about every aspect of the program, Texas Tech fans expect this season to be a special one that doesn't end until late in March at the earliest.

This year, there are eight new faces on the official roster. That includes five transfers from other Division-I programs.

So who might comprise the starting lineup for McCasland's team this year? Let's take a look at the options the head coach has at is disposal.

There should be only one staring job up for grabs for Texas Tech

As we head into the season, it is fairly safe to say that the majority of the starting five is already set. That assumption is made because of the moves that Tech made this offseason.

First, though, we know that returning forward Darrion Williams will start. By the end of last season, he was Tech's best all-around player.

Averaging 11.4 points and 7.5 rebounds per game in his first season as a Red Raider, he showed that he can be a fantastic player in the Big 12. Earning third-team All-Big 12 honors, his nine double-doubles in conference play were second of any Big 12 player. Thus, he is the obvious choice to be Tech's starting small forward.

Three newcomers should join him in the starting five. The first is point guard Elijah Hawkins. Last year at Minnesota, he put up 9.5 points and 3.6 rebounds per game.

However, his calling card is his ability to distribute the ball. A season ago, he dished out 7.5 assists per game. That was good for second-most in the NCAA.

A senior with only one year left to play, Hawkins didn't come to Texas Tech to sit the bench. What's more, he's the only proven point guard on the roster so it is obvious that he will be in the starting five.

At the power forward spot, another obvious starter is New Mexico transfer JT Toppin. In fact, many expect the sophomore to be Tech's best player this season.

Last year, he was the Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Year. He posted 12.4 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks per game.

Many NBA Draft experts think that Toppin could be a first-round pick in next summer's draft. In fact, he impressed this summer when going through the draft process and participating in the NBA Draft Combine.

Finally, at center, Tech will almost certianly start Pitt transfer Federiko Federiko. The 6-foot-11, 220-pounder put up 4.7 points and 5.2 rebounds per game a season ago. He also blocked 1.7 shots per contest.

While those numbers aren't great, Federiko is likely to start because he's the only player on the roster over 6-foot-9. Thus, he is almost certain to be Tech's starting center.

That leaves only the shooting guard position to be filled. And at that spot, there are three players who could round out the starting five.

Who will be the fifth starter for Texas Tech?

Two of the potential starting shooting guards, Kerwin Walton and Chance McMillian, were with the program last season while newcomer Kevin Overton could also factor in.

Walton started the most games at the shooting guard spot for Tech in 2023-24. After an injury cost forward Devan Cambridge to miss all but eight games of the season, Walton was inserted into the starting lineup to play next to Pop Isaacs as McCasland decided to essentially go with a three-guard lineup (along with point guard Joe Toussaint).

Starting 26 games, the former North Carolina transfer managed to average 8.5 points and 2.4 rebounds per game. His best contribution to the team was his ability to shoot the 3-pointer, something he did at a 47.8% rate to lead the team.

Another good shooter that McCasland could put in his starting five is McMillian who shot 38.7% from deep in his first season at Tech. However, he was primarily Tech's sixth man. In fact, he made only one start last season.

Still, with his athleticism and basketball savvy, he could be a player McCasland puts in his starting five. However, to take the 10.8 points and 4.0 rebounds he averaged last year out of the bench rotation might not be the smartest move, especially since McMillian has already proven comfortable being a super-substitute.

The newcomer, Overton, might also earn a starting role. Playing for Drake last season, he averaged 11.3 points and 3.3 rebounds per game as a true freshman. What's more, at 6-foot-5, he would bring some much-needed size to play next to the 5-foot-11 Hawkins in the backcourt.

Ultimately, Overton might make the best sense given his all-around game and his size. However, he is the worst 3-point shooter of the three shooting guard candidates (34.6% last season).

Could McCasland decide that his starting five needs more outside shooting and go with Walton or McMillian? Or will he lean toward a player in Overton who could have a higher upside given his physical gifts? Either way, the fact that he has three options is a great indication that the team he has put together this year is much deeper than the one he had to work with in his first campaign in Lubbock.