Rise of the newcomers

If you are a die-hard Red Raider basketball fan like myself, you probably have a few questions on your mind- will we be okay without our seniors? Can we get back to the Elite Eight? What are we going to do?!

I’m hear to say fear not Red Raider nation, everything will be just fine. With a coach like Chris Beard running the show, it’s safe to say he has a way to continue to push this program to even higher levels.

The biggest reason of all is the future of talent Texas Tech has acquired over the past several months. Obviously, we need to dig deep to find what skill sets and assets these newcomers can bring to the floor.

Matt Mooney

This guy is an obvious talent out of south Dakota who decided to play his last year at Texas Tech. No doubt his reasoning lies with the talent, and coaches the Red Raiders posses.

Mooney is a huge grab for Texas Tech, and that might be an understatement. In his final season as a Coyote, Mooney averaged 18.7 points per game, 4.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists.

Sounds familiar? Well, it should. Mooney almost mimics right down to the stats of what Keenan Evans did for this program last year. Evans averaged the same points as Mooney and was just shy of the newcomers stat line by one rebound and assists.

Put this experienced Coyote next to Texas Tech athletes like Jarrett Culver, Bradone Francis and Norense Odiase, and you’re looking at another high caliber Red Raider team.

Khavon Moore

Just knowing Moore committed to Texas Tech and not Oklahoma brings me pure joy. Being one of the most highly scouted high school senior in the nation, Moore had plenty of schools to choose from. However, he picked to become a Red Raider and will make strides alongside coach beard.

Moore was ranked 51st in the nation as a small forward, and 12th in the state of Georgia. Talk about a guy we could use on our squad. With forwards like Zach Smith and Tommy Hamilton, Moore will be a replacement for those guys as he stands at 6’8” and weighs approximately 190 pounds.

In high school, he averaged 19.8 points per game, 4 assists, 9.6 rebounds to display his offensive dominance on the correct. Heck, he averaged more points than Mooney! Yes there’s a difference in the level of play, but 19 points is astounding for a young athlete. Oh, did I mention he also averages 2.4 steals and 2.5 blocks per game?

I can see Moore now on the court. With his abilities, Moore is to make an instant impact in replacing of Smith.

Kyler Edwards

Just south of Lubbock, a young guard was showing out in Arlington, and he caught the eye of Texas Tech recruiters. Edwards is a 6’4”, 195 pound guard who was also highly scouted out of high school. He had offers from across the nation being ranked 4th in the state and chose Texas Tech out of them all.

His stature also mimics Evans along with his ability to create for others and make unexpected shots beyond the perimeter. This guard averaged 16.4 points per game, 4.2 assists, 5.2 rebounds and 1.6 steals. With numbers across the stat line, Edwards will be a likely option for Jarret Culver to pass the ball to or set up an ISO screen.

He might not come straight off the bench, but Edwards will definitely make is mark wearing that black and Scarlett red.

DeShawn Corprew

A native West Texan will also be joining the 2018-2019 Red Raider roster next season. Corprew is from Levelland and played at South Plains College just outside of Lubbock before making the transfer. He is also ranked the 3rd shooting guard in Texas. Not too shabby right?

Corprew also stands at 6’5” and weighs 195 pounds, similar to Moore and Edwards. As a freshman at South Plains, he averaged 12.1 points per game, and shot a stunning 36.5 percent from the perimeter. Do to the amount of guards the Red Raiders have, its going to be a fight to the finish to see who will get the starting spot. But, it isn't a bad thing to have fresh legs and talent come off the bench to create some offense.

Regardless, these newcomers will definitely take Tech fans aback once they hit the court and show their talents.