Texas Tech guard Lamar Washington enters the transfer portal

It sure is a popular time for Texas Tech basketball players to enter the transfer portal. That trend continued on Wednesday when it was reported that Lamar Washington, a sophomore guard, has become the latest Red Raider to seek greener pastures.

However, this move could not have come as a surprise to anyone. This past season, Washington averaged only 8.9 minutes per game appearing in 30 contests.

He averaged only 2.1 points and 1.5 rebounds per game. Thus, his impending departure shouldn't be a great concern to Red Raider fans.

The truth is that Washington never quite lived up to his high school billing while at Texas Tech. When he signed as part of the 2023 recruiting class, he was a four-star recruit and the Oregon High School Player of the Year.

However, the lefty never worked his way into the regular rotation, especially this past season under Grant McCasland. He proved to be a liability when handling the ball as he averaged 4.0 turnovers per 100 possessions, an incredibly high number given that his usage rate was 10th lowest on the roster.

Also, Washington has proven to be an awful shooter. No guard who shoots 38.2% overall from the floor and 23.5% from the 3-point line is going to be an asset in the Big 12.

In 62 career games, he has scored in double figures just twice. He put up 13 points against Kansas State in February of 2023 and 12 against Nicholls State in December of 2022.

This past season, he topped out at eight points against Omaha in December. In Big 12 play, the most he scored in a game was four points.

Though Washington began the season getting regular minutes in the Texas Tech rotation, he saw his playing time diminish as the season progressed. In fact, in the last 11 games of the regular season, he played no more than eight minutes in any single game.

This is the eighth Texas Tech basketball player to enter the transfer portal since the start of the 2023-24 season. The others are Drew Steffe, Pop Isaacs, Robert Jennings, Devan Cambridge, Kye'Ron Lindsay, D'Maurian Williams, and Robert Jennings.

What's more, with Joe Toussaint and Warren Washington out of eligibility, Tech has only four players still on the roster at this time. They are Chance McMillian, Kerwin Walton, Eemile Yalaho, and Darrion Williams.

Unlike the departures of Isaacs or Cambridge, Washington's entrance into the portal was expected. He has had two years to prove that he's ready to contribute in the Big 12 and he has been unable to do so.

That's why this departure is not one that fans should fret over. Rather, it is likely best for both the program and Washington to go their separate ways. In the end, Washington just isn't suited to compete at such a high level and his scholarship could be better utilized on a player who is ready to give this program more value moving forward.