Most of the JUCO signees for the 2017 class for Texas Tech have played about 10 games and since we knew so little about a lot of these JUCO players, I thought it would be good to check in on their stats one-third of the way through their seasons and hopefully to check in on them again in another month and a half to see how these players are progressing.

Jordan Brangers

Brangers is a 6’2″ shooting guard playing at South Plains College and before he committed, he was an absolute and complete mystery. Brangers graduated high school in Kentucky and then bounced around a bit before landing at SPC for this year, which is his sophomore year.

Pts/G: 20.7
FG%: 51.3%
3PT%: 48.5%
FT%: 71.4%
Reb/G: 2.6
Ast/G: 1.3
TO/G 1.2
Steals/G: 1.1

Brangers has scored a high of 35 points against Bossier Parish Community College where SPC won 124-81 and really has shot remarkably well from the three-point line. Brangers has one game where he made 7 of 17 three-point shots and two games where he shot 13 three-point shots, going 8-13 in one contest and 5-13 in the other. This is where Brangers is going to be an invaluable part of the team, his ability to shoot the long-ball and make them at a fairly regular rate.

Josh Webster

Webster is a 6’3″ point guard for South Plains and he’s not a scorer in the traditional sense, but a true point guard and distributor. When trying to find out something about Webster, the most I could find out is that he played high school ball in Saint Louis and that was about it.

Pts/G: 8.5
FG%: 57.6%
3PT%: 57.1%
FT%: 63.2%
Reb/G: 3.6
Ast/G: 8.8
TO/G 1.7
Steals/G: 1.2

The statistic that should jump out at you is the 8.8 assists a game with only 1.7 turnovers per game. He’s averaging more assists than points. As you’ll note, Webster doesn’t even average double-figures, but that may not be his role on the team. There are a lot of talented scorers on the team and Webster’s role is obviously to facilitate those other players. Still though, Webster can do some decent scoring, but he typically takes 6-8 shots a game and as you’ll note, he’s making them, he just doesn’t shoot a ton. He’s only taken 7 three-point shots on the year. What does stand out though is his ability to distribute the ball and has had a game of 18 assists and against Bossier Parish C.C. and other double-digit assist games against Wayland Baptist J.V. and Trinity Valley C.C. I would like to imagine that Webster’s game is similar to that of Rajon Rando, maybe not the best shooter, but a fantastic distributor.

Hyron Edwards

Edwards is a combo-guard, standing at 6’1″ and currently playing at Trinity Valley Community College. Edwards was a standout basketball player originally from East Chicago, Indiana and made his way to TVCC as he didn’t qualify coming out of high school.

Pts/G: 19.5
FG%: 41.5%
3PT%: 37.5%
FT%: 89.2%
Reb/G: 3.1
Ast/G: 3.6
TO/G 1.4
Steals/G: 1.0

Edwards started ou the year absolutely on fire, scoring 29, 38, 18, 21, 21, 19 and 20 points in his first 7 games, but then he was out for 4 games (not sure why) and upon his return, has struggled a bit with his shot, making only 7, 10 and 12 points. If I had to guess, Edwards is probably dealing with an injury and is working his way back into the shape. Edwards is not the shooter that Brangers is, but before being out, Edwards was shooting at a terrific clip making 50% of his three-point shots. Edwards can dish the ball as well as he had games where he didn’t register an assist, but then, he’s had games where he’s had 5, 5, 10, 6, and 6 assists in a game with just 10 turnovers on the year. That’s not bad. The other note is that there are some programs that don’t keep assists and the 3 games he didn’t register an assist, he also didn’t register a rebound, turnover, steal, etc., which makes me think who ever kept the box score just didn’t keep track of those stats.

Generally speaking, I think Texas Tech has an interesting mix of players, although I think the team runs a bit guard heavy.  Let’s go back to our scholarship chart.

Remember that at the bottom of the chart, the total must equal 13 for each year as that’s the maximum scholarship limit. That means there’s one additional scholarship spot available for the 2018 season. I know that the staff is holding out hope for Trae Young, but I’d also guess that there might be a transfer available as the front line may need a boost with only Smith, Odiase and Hamilton as true frontcourt players.