Texas Tech reportedly reaches out to freshman transfer with interesting potential

With the frenzy of activity on the college basketball recruiting front, it may be tough to keep a handle on all of the movement across the country. That's especially true for Texas Tech basketball fans because the Red Raiders were still playing in the NCAA Tournament when the transfer portal opened last week.

And speaking of last week, that's when it was reported that a freshman transfer with a high upside has heard from Texas Tech. According to a post on X by The Portal Report, Virginia Tech freshman forward Ryan Jones Jr. has been contacted by the Red Raiders since he entered the portal.

On the surface, this development might not put too much juice in the Red Raider fan base. That's because Jones Jr. doesn't have the most impressive college stats.

This past season in Blacksburg, he appeared in only five games scoring 1.2 points and pulling down 0.4 rebounds per outing. In fact, he logged only ten total minutes in those appearances.

Jones entered college with concerns about a knee injury suffered in high school. That likely delayed his development somewhat, and it certainly didn't set him up for success to begin his career at Virginia Tech.

As a result, he was unable to work his way into the Hokies' regular rotation. Now, he's looking for a fresh start. But why would Texas Tech even express interest in a player with such meager stats?

The answer is potential. Jones was a consensus four-star recruit coming out of the prep ranks. He was rated the 80th-best prospect in the 2024 class by 247Sports, which ranked him the 12th-best player in the state of Florida and the 12th-best center nationally in his class.

There were some impressive power-conference programs after Jones before he signed with Virginia Tech. Such schools as Illinois, LSU, Florida, Louisville, Miami, Missouri, NC State, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, and Xavier offered him scholarships.

Now, it appears that the Red Raiders are at least kicking the tires. That's because Jones could possibly bring something to the table that this program simply doesn't currently have on the roster: bulk.

Jones checks in at 6-foot-8 and 240 pounds. That means he's already a grown man by NCAA basketball standards despite being just one season removed from playing in the high school ranks.

To put his size in perspective, consider that Houston's senior star forward, J'Wan Roberts, is 6-foot-8 and 235 pounds, and he uses his strength and size to overpower opponents in the post with ease. In fact, when you also factor in 6-foot-8, 230-pound Joseph Tugler and 6-foot-8, 235-pound Ja'Vier Francis, the Cougars have three key rotational pieces that fit Jones' physical profile, and the physicality they bring to the table has helped carry that program to the Final Four.

This year, Texas Tech had a shorter and more slender team. The only two players on the roster over 6-foot-6, JT Toppin and Federiko Federiko, weigh 225 pounds and 215 pounds, respectively, and at times, the Red Raiders were bullied by teams like Houston or Arizona that had heavier and stronger post players.

So even though Jones' college stats won't blow anyone away, he is an intriguing option for the Red Raiders because of his stature. He could bring something to the table that this program didn't have in 2024-25, and that might make it worth the gamble to add him to the mix.