Texas Tech basketball should consider adding this West Texas native via portal

Texas Tech basketball continues to shop in the transfer portal as Grant McCasland tries to construct his second roster in Lubbock. Now, there is a West Texas native in the portal that the Red Raiders should consider trying to add.

Villanova guard Brendan Hausen is reportedly looking at his options and Tech should see if he wants to come home. That's because he could help sure up one of the most important aspects of the game, 3-point shooting.

The 6-foot-4 sophomore has played his first two years at Villanova and, though it was a different coaching staff, he was heavily recruited by Texas Tech out of high school. As a recruit, he was a 4-star prospect who was the 17 shooting guard and No. 117 overall player in America. He had offers from Tech, Villanova, Arizona State, Butler, Creighton, Houston, Oregon, Texas A&M, Virginia Tech, and others.

As a collegiate, he's yet to realize his full potential though. In 66 career games, he's averaged just 4.7 points and 1.1 rebounds per game, all off the bench.

However, this past season, his scoring rose to 6.2 points per game. What's more, he's an above-average 3-point shooter, something that might intrigue Tech.

For his career, he's a 39.5% shooter from beyond the arc. That might be a skill that Tech needs to add next season.

Sure, the Red Raiders will have Kerwin Walton (who shot 47.8% from deep this past season) and Chance McMillian (a 38.7% 3-point shooter in 2023-24) next season (presumably). However, each of those players will be super-seniors next year meaning their time as collegiates is running out.

Hausen, with two years of college basketball left, could still be an asset beyond the 2024-25 season and that could be valuable for Tech as it puts together its roster. What's more, his best basketball is still ahead of him.

This season, his role increased with the Wildcats. His minutes per game went from 8.9 as a freshman to 17.6 as a sophomore.

This season, he showed he can have strong outings against good competition. He put up 12 points and three rebounds against Xavier, he scored 17 against DePaul, and he scored 11 points against a very tough Marquette team.

What's more, in February, he had a run of five games that saw him average 13.6 points and 2.4 rebounds per game all against Big East competition. That's proof of what he could eventually become.

Now, Hausen is a pure catch-and-shoot player. He averaged only 0.5 assists per game this season meaning that he isn't a creator. In that regard, he's very similar to Walton and it would be unwise to play those two players together as they are essentially the same when it comes to their skillset.

On the other hand, being able to bring a shooter of this caliber off of the bench is always a luxury and Tech should be in the business of adding as much 3-point shooting as possible. Hausen could supply that.

Of course, this program needs to add more ball-dominant guards as well. With Pop Isaacs in the portal and Joe Toussaint having exhausted his eligibility, Tech's two main ball handlers and creators are out of the mix. Hausen wouldn't help replace them because he doesn't do what Isaacs or Toussaint do with the ball.

However, his ability to shoot the ball is something that makes him an intriguing portal prospect. That's why Tech would be wise to at least kick the tires here and see if there is any interest in a homecoming for the Amarillo native.