The basketball season is around the corner, and I’ve been biting my nails thinking about all the different stats that our Red Raiders flubbed last season. But I have been inspired, strangely enough, after watching the first few FOOTBALL games. The play at quarterback did just that! I had to remind myself that the basketball team has a chance to have a superstar spurt out and lead the team to have some killer potential on offense. I have hope that one guy will have a breakout year and get the ball in the hoop a lot when it leaves his hands during gametime.
I went back and got the stats from the returning players for review…
| Rk | Player | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | PTS ▾ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Devaugntah Williams | 24.5 | 3.4 | 8.5 | .397 | 1.7 | 4.3 | .391 | 10.5 |
| 3 | Toddrick Gotcher | 24.2 | 2.3 | 6.0 | .377 | 1.3 | 3.5 | .375 | 7.3 |
| 4 | Norense Odiase | 21.7 | 2.6 | 5.2 | .506 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.000 | 7.0 |
| 5 | Justin Gray | 18.8 | 2.3 | 4.7 | .493 | 0.0 | 0.5 | .000 | 6.7 |
| 6 | Zach Smith | 27.7 | 2.2 | 4.6 | .472 | 0.2 | 0.6 | .263 | 6.2 |
| 7 | Keenan Evans | 18.2 | 1.7 | 4.7 | .369 | 0.5 | 1.7 | .302 | 5.8 |
| 8 | Isaiah Manderson | 14.0 | 1.8 | 3.5 | .509 | 0.0 | 0.0 | .000 | 4.4 |
| 11 | Aaron Ross | 9.9 | 0.7 | 2.7 | .258 | 0.1 | 0.8 | .105 | 2.6 |
| 12 | Stan Mays | 3.9 | 0.6 | 1.2 | .455 | 0.4 | 1.1 | .400 | 2.2 |
Next, I checked stats of the August Canadian Tour games (luckily Seth put the links up on STP so it didn’t take a year to find it)…
vs Ottawa – Jordan Jackson w/ 15 points (6-10, 2-3 from 3-pt.)
vs Laval – Devaugntah Williams w/ 19 points (5-8, 4-6 from 3-pt.)
vs McGill – Jordan Jackson w/ 11 points (3-5, 0-0 from 3-pt.)
vs Carleton – Keenan Evans w/ 16 points (7-10, 0-0 from 3-pt.)
Shuffling through all of this, and knowing what I watched on the court last season. There are three guys that stick out out to me as the biggest threats for a breakout season and to be the leading scorer on this squad. Devaugntah Williams, Keenan Evans, and frosh Jordan Jackson. I think our senior leader and heart of the team will be Toddrick Gotcher, but he will not be the top scorer of the group.
Williams… So, my question is who will be the breakout guy this season to lead the team in scoring? The easy answer is Devaugntah Williams. He is a streaky shooter that can get really hot and go on a tear in games. He averaged the highest per game last season, so why shouldn’t he be the leader this next season? The senior guard will have a lot of people leaning on him to be the “go to” player on the court.
Evans… Looking at the stats table from last season and checking out the game leaders in the Canadian tour points out one thing. Texas Tech will have to rely on heavy scoring from the guards. Keenan Evans had a few games last year where he had flashes of being a big scorer. Without Turner at PG this season Evans will have a bunch more minutes to get his game on and put the ball in the bucket. Has the offseason given him time to become a better shooter? I like his potential, but still do not know if he will be able to be our “go to” for points.
Jackson… My pick for the Red Raiders breakout of the year and brightest potential to be the leading scorer next season is Jordan Jackson. The kid can ball. Yes, he has a lot to work on, but it looks like he wants the ball in his hands and will get it in the hoop. Maybe I will reconsider after the first few games? Though, from what I’ve seen and have hope for is that Jackson comes out and lights it up for Tech on the basketball court. It will be similar to what Mahomes is currently doing for Tech football. I don’t think that is such a crazy thought.
Do you agree that Jackson will be the guy to drop in the most points for Tech next season?