Power Forward
D'Walyn Roberts; 6-7/194; Junior
Positives: There is no one more athletically gifted than D'Walyn Roberts on Texas Tech's roster. Roberts has the ability to go above the rim and get to the basket. Roberts is very long and can cause matchup problems for opponents. Defensively, Roberts has the ability guard bigger opponents because of his length and should be one of Texas Tech's best defenders. Again, Roberts has the physical gifts to be a matchup nightmare. Long arms. Decent outside shot. Athletic ability. He's got it all, it's just a matter of translating this to the court against Big 12 competition.
Negatives: Much like Singletary, I think Roberts needs to improve his consistency. There were too many times last year that Roberts would have 3 or 4 turnovers and that would lead Pat Knight to take out Roberts and his minutes would be limited, despite all of his athletic gifts. Obviously, I'd love to see Roberts add some more weight and putting him in the category of power forward rather than small forward is perhaps an indication that PK, who recruited Brad Reese, Theron Jenkins and Jaye Crockett (all small forwards), needs Roberts to be a bigger force on the boards and defensively. I'm hoping that Roberts can add some weight and be a bigger player next year.
Trevor Cook; 6-9/241; Senior
Positives: Unfortunately for Cook, there weren't many positives last year, in part because a fairly serious back injury sidelined him for almost the entire year. I think people tend to forget that Cook missed to much time and as a result, I think Texas Tech's frontcourt struggled a bit, especially when players weren't performing on the court. I really like Cook's game: outside shooting, athletic ability, ability to block shots and rebounding. Damn, I missed Cook last year.
Negatives: Cook's biggest negative is that he can rack up early and silly fouls. It's been over a full year since I watched him play, but as a sophomore, there were times that he lost his man inside while helping out and when that happens, it can get ugly. I'd like to see Cook be a better rebounder, especially considering his size and leaping ability. For Cook, it has to be about attitude on the court.
Corbin Ray; 6-7/225; Sophomore
Positives: Pretty small sample size last year, but when Ray did play, there were some positives. I was pleasantly surprised by Ray's strength. He was much bigger than expected, which is part of the reason I have him as a power forward. Ray may lack the height, but he has the size and he's a good enough athlete to compete with most Big 12 power forwards. I was impressed with Ray's outside shot, but I don't remember him mixing it up inside much. Other than having a relatively smooth offensive game, I could see how Ray could be one of those glue guys that every team needs, a little like Michael Prince.
Negatives: As briefly mentioned above, I thought that considering Ray's size and strength he could have been a little more effective inside. Again, we're talking about a really small sample size when Ray was on the floor, but I'm hoping that other than the outside game, that Ray maybe worked on some post moves and spent quite a bit of time inside the paint during his offseason.