Every team has consistent players that can be counted on game in and game out, and every team has players who are considered X-factors. In college basketball, the goal is to have those X-factors make an impact in March, and that's what Kerwin Walton has done for Texas Tech.
While the Red Raiders know what they can expect to get from other starters like JT Toppin, Chance McMillian, Darrion Williams, and even Elijah Hawkins, Walton is often an all-or-nothing proposition. Fortunately, though, he's trending in the right direction as the postseason dawns.
In three of the past four games, Walton has scored 11 or 12 points. During that span, he's averaged 10.2 points per outing.
As you might expect, the 3-point shot has been how he's helped his team. He's made 13 of the 29 shots from beyond the arc (44.8%) in his last four games while attempting only one total shot from two-point range.
This stretch comes on the heels of a span where he was a relative non-factor for most games despite starting. From February 4 through February 22, a span of six games, Walton had only one double-digit scoring effort while scoring three or fewer points four times.
That shows just how much of a boom or bust player Walton is. This season, he has had six double-digit scoring games, including a season-high of 21 points. However, on eight occasions, he's failed to score a single point.
That's likely due to the fact that Walton has only one way to put up points, by shooting 3s. He has made 47 shots from deep this year while connecting on only seven 2-point attempts and making just 10 free throws. Therefore, when the 3-ball isn't falling, he is not able to impact the game.
What was odd, though, is that there was a time when one of the best 3-point shooters in the nation was shy about firing away from downtown. In that five-game stretch in February that preceded his recent uptick in production, he attempted only 21 3-pointers (making six). That included four games in which he shot three or fewer.
Everything seemed to change when Houston came to Lubbock on February 24. That night, Walton had to assume more of an offensive leadership role, given that McMillian and Williams were unavailable. Though he was only 4 of 11 from 3-point range in that game, that performance seemed to spark some aggressiveness in Walton that has carried him through the end of the regular season.
In the last four games, Walton has averaged 7.2 shots from long distance per game. That aggressiveness has given Tech some extra firepower as the team has scored 78 or more points in its last three games, including 91 and 85 in each of the last two games, respectively.
The undeniable reality is that Walton must score points to help this team. He's a below-average defender, he doesn't create offense for others, and he doesn't do much of anything on the glass. So, when he isn't hitting 3s, he is merely a passenger and it feels as if Tech is playing five-on-four when he's on the court.
When he does contribute to the offense, though, it makes Tech almost impossible to defend because it gives the Red Raiders five offensive threats (four outside shooters and JT Toppin inside). So, hopefully his recent run of effectiveness will continue into March because he is certainly one of the biggest X-factors on the roster.