Texas Tech basketball makes top six for coveted transfer guard

The Texas Tech basketball team could be on the verge of adding a key piece from the transfer portal. Drake guard Kevin Overton has released his top six schools and, according to On3Sports, the Red Raiders have made the cut.

The other schools still in the mix for Overton's services are Colorado State, Oklahoma, Houston, Oklahoma State, and West Virginia. In other words, if Texas Tech doesn't win this recruiting battle, Overton will likely be an opponent that Grant McCasland's program has to deal with in the Big 12.

What makes Overton such an intriguing player is that he is just a freshman meaning he could be a Red Raider for multiple years to come. That would make him similar to Darrion Williams who joined Texas Tech for the 2023-24 season after a strong freshman year at Nevada.

However, Overton's just-completed freshman season was far stronger statistically than Williams' freshman campaign was, at least in terms of scoring.

While Williams averaged a notch below eight points per game at Nevada in 2022-23, Overton put up 11.3 points per game this past season at Drake.

That included 19 games in double figures in the scoring department. He topped out with 23 points against Murray State and he had 22 against NCAA Tournament team Oakland. On the other hand, the only major conference team that Overton faced this year was Washington State. Against the Cougars, he managed only six points on 2-6 shooting.

Another factor that makes Overton a coveted player is his size. At 6-foot-5, he's got the size that Texas Tech didn't have at the primary guard spots in 2023-24.

Both Pop Isaacs and Joe Toussaint are shorter than 6-foot-2 so the Red Raiders lacked size in the backcourt this past season. That often impacted the team's ability to play the type of defense that McCasland desired.

Defense isn't what Overton is known for, though. Sure, he can learn how to play up to McCasland's standards on that end of the floor but he's known more for his ability to put the ball in the bucket.

One thing to keep in mind in this recruiting battle is that Overton is an Oklahoma City native. Thus, one might fear that the Sooners would have a leg up.

However, it is being rumored that he will be in Lubbock this weekend for an official visit though he's yet to confirm that news on social media. Of course, last offseason, Tech did a great job of landing players that they were able to get to Lubbock for visits.

So keep an eye on Kevin Overton's recruitment this weekend and in the upcoming days. This is a high-value target that the Red Raiders certainly want to add to the mix and it appears that they have a legitimate shot to land this talented freshman.