What Texas Tech basketball still needs from the transfer portal
After a bit of a quiet start to the offseason amid the transfer portal frenzy, the Texas Tech basketball team's 2024-25 roster is starting to take shape. In fact, the Red Raiders have added some extremely useful pieces to the mix since the end of last season.
Thus far, Tech has filled only three of the eight available scholarships that the program had to hand out. Each of those three should be a key player next season though.
The first to commit was Kevin Overton, a 6-foot-5 shooting guard from Drake. Listed by 247Sports.com as a 4-star transfer, he's the No. 26 shooting guard in the portal.
Then Grant McCasland landed a commitment from Federiko Federiko, a 6-foot-10 forward from Pitt. He is rated a 3-star transfer and the No. 60 power forward in the portal.
Most recently, Tech landed the services of Elijah Hawkins, a 4-star point guard from Minnesota. Rated the No. 19 point guard in the portal, he will be the man to run the Red Raider offense next season.
Each of these three players should be able to contribute right away next year and it is not a stretch to envision all three starting. However, there's more work to be done and more scholarships to hand out. So let's take a look at what the Red Raiders still need to add to the roster.
Texas Tech needs more size in the paint
If we learned nothing last year, we learned that it is unwise to go into a season with only one true post player on the roster. That decision nearly undid the Red Raiders late in the season when Warren Washington suffered a foot injury.
When Washington went down on February 12 against Kansas, it left the Red Raiders undermanned in the post because the 7-footer was the only member of last season's team to stand over 6-foot-8. In his place, 6-foot-7 Robert Jennings was asked to start for the final month of the season, and true freshman Eemeli Yalaho had to play an increased role after essentially being a spectator for most of the season.
Tech survived that stretch going 5-4 in the games between when Washington first went down and when he returned to play in the NCAA Tournament against NC State. However, life would have been far better with more size on the roster.
Also, Tech learned in the loss to the Wolfpack that it wasn't big enough as a team, even with Washington in the mix. NC State had three legitimate big men on its roster and together they combined for 54 points and 17 rebounds as they had their way in the post against Tech.
The Red Raiders would be wise to use a scholarship on another player as close to seven feet as possible. It would also be great to see that player have some offensive game given that Federiko averaged only 4.7 points per game last season.
Life in the Big 12 requires teams to have plenty of size in the paint and Tech doesn't have enough yet. Were the season to begin today, the Red Raiders wouldn't have enough because Jennings has transferred to Oklahoma State and Yalaho is still not ready to play a key role on a contending team. So look to see if the Red Raiders can add more height via the portal. The only problem is that just about every team in the nation is also looking for elite players in the post.