Thursday night, the Texas Tech basketball team addressed one of its biggest needs via the transfer portal. Landing Virginia Commonwealth big man Luke Bamgboye, the Red Raiders helped to solidify their frontcourt by adding some serious size to complement reigning Big 12 Player of the Year, JT Toppin.
The London, England native is a 6-foot-10, 200-pound sophomore. In 2024-25, he played in 35 games as a true freshman, making 24 starts.
Still developing his skills, Bamgboye averaged 3.8 points and 3.3 rebounds per game while playing around 17 minutes per contest. However, on defense is where he was at his best. He averaged 2.1 blocks per game, an incredible number given that he played so few minutes.
Of course, Tech fans have been clambering for the Red Raiders to add more size in the post since Federiko Federiko entered the transfer portal. Now, with Bamgboye in the mix, it appears that Federiko's time as a Red Raider is over after just one season.
NEWS: VCU transfer Luke Bamgboye has committed to Texas Tech, agent Rashaad Ubah told ESPN. The 6'10 Brit was named to the A10 All-Defense and All-Freshman teams after averaging 2.1 blocks in 17 minutes per game. pic.twitter.com/HENMF8FNnp
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) April 25, 2025
Federiko was a serviceable big man off the bench in 2024-25. The senior put up 5.1 points and 4.5 rebounds in 18.9 minutes per game. On defense, he blocked 0.8 shots per game.
In other words, his stats were comparable to what Bamgboye posted this past season. However, there are a couple of differences between the two players.
Most important is the fact that Bamgboye is much farther from being a complete product. With three years left to play, he is just scratching the surface of what he might become, unlike Federiko, who arrived in Lubbock as a senior.
Secondly, Bamgboye is a far more impactful rim protector. Not only will he block far more shots than Federiko, but he will also alter more.
On the other hand, he's never competed at the power-conference level, whereas Federiko had been at Pittsburgh before transferring to Lubbock. Thus, it will be interesting to see how he performs as he steps up in competition.
Unlike in 2024-25, Tech now has two players on the roster who are at least 6-foot-10. Along with Bamgboye is redshirt freshman Marial Akuentok, a 6-foot-10 forward from Edmonton, Canada who joined the Red Raiders in January but did not play.
Thus, Tech is likely to go into the upcoming season with a true sophomore and a redshirt freshman providing their size in the post along with the 6-foot-9 Toppin. Though both Bamgboye and Akuentok have some upside, they will have to grow up in a hurry to contribute on a team with Big 12 and National Championship aspirations.
Bamgboye's pedigree suggests he could become a quality player in time, though. Playing at Compass Prep in Arizona, he was a 4-star prospect according to the 247Sports composite rankings.
Rated the No.139 overall player in his class, he was the No. 28 center in the nation. He held offers from Houston, Maryland, Miami, SMU, UCF, Iowa, Georgia Tech, and Cal.
Now, his journey has brought him to Lubbock, and he's going to be asked to contribute right away. Tech is banking on this young big man to provide some defense and muscle in the post, and how well he does that will be a critical aspect of next season's success.