Texas Tech basketball lands defensive-minded big man from the transfer portal

Wednesday, the Texas Tech basketball program added its second transfer portal addition in two days. After landing Drake transfer Kevin Overton on Tuesday, the Red Raiders have now picked up a verbal commitment from Pitt transfer big man Federiko Federiko.

He is a 6-foot-11, 225-pound forward originally from Finland. He will have two years of eligibility remaining. He shared the news of his commitment on his Instagram account.

Last season, Federiko averaged 4.7 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game. All of that came in just an average of 21.3 minutes per outing.

Federiko started 26 of the 33 games that he played. And he could be an option to start for the Red Raiders given that he's excellent at the one thing Texas Tech head coach Grant McCasland values most, playing defense.

This past season, he had a 100.5 defensive rating (an estimate of the number of points a player allows per 100 possessions). On the other hand, he isn't likely to be much of an offensive force, though.

For his career, which spans 68 games, he has managed to average on 5.7 points per game. That includes the 6.6 he posted as a true freshman.

With most of his points coming off of dunks and put-backs, he's a 65.4% shooter from the floor. However, he's never attempted a 3-pointer in his career. Also, he's just a 53.4% free-throw shooter over the course of the last two seasons.

Adding more size was a must for Texas Tech this offseason. With 2023-24 starting center Warren Washington having exhausted his eligibility, the Red Raiders had no player over 6-foot-8 set to return for next season.

However, adding Federiko is not going to be enough. We saw this past season how vulnerable Tech was when Washington missed a month with a foot injury and there was no size on the roster to fill his shoes.

Therefore, the Red Raiders have to add another big man this offseason. It would be preferable if they added one who had a bit more of a scoring touch to balance out the offense.

The Red Raiders still have plenty of work to do when putting together next season's roster. McCasland could hand out as many as six more scholarships after seeing eight players depart his program either via graduation or transfer this offseason.

Bringing in Federiko was an important step in the construction of the 2024-25 team, though. He brings a defensive tenacity that fans and the coaching staff will love and he helps give this team some much-needed size in the middle of the lane, something that is invaluable in the college game.