Recruiting on the Plains: 2019 Center Russel Tchewa Commits to Texas Tech

Player: Russel Tchewa
Position: Center
Height / Weight: 7-0/255
High School: Putnam Science Academy (Putnam, CT)
Offers: Texas Tech
Recruiting Services: Rivals N/R | 24/7 Sports N/R | ESPN N/R
Video: YouTube
Cumulative Ranking: N/R

Well, we have a completely off-the-radar commitment for the 2019 class in Russel Tchewa, a 7-0 center originally from the Cameroon, but will be playing for Putnam Science Academy this year and will arrive as part of the 2019 Class. If the name Putnam Science Academy sounds familiar, it is the same prep school that Malik Ondigo and Josh Mballa attended before arriving at Texas Tech and it’s clear that there’s a really good relationship there.

2019 big man Russel Tchewa (Putnam Science Academy) just committed to @CoachBeardTTU and @TexasTechMBB. Tchewa, originally from Cameroon, is a 7-foot, 255-pound, true back to the basket player with a soft touch. @RedRaiderSports @ebosshoops @coreyevans_10 pic.twitter.com/yYhahPwHcu

— Chris Level (@ChrisLevel) October 11, 2018

From the stats bove, the Adidas Next Generation Tournament U18, you can see that he averaged 13.5 points, 5.3 rebounds on 64% from the floor and 67% from the free throw line. Tchewa’s Adidas NGT profile had him playng in 8 games in 2017-18 averaging 10.6 points on 51% from the floor, 6 rebounds, and half a block per game in 22 minutes for the U18 Stellazzurra Rome team.

Tchewa is obviously a back-to-the-basket player operating mainly out of the post. He’s got a nice feel for the game and seems comfortable on both blocks. His moves are somewhat limited, but given that he’s an 18 year old that may not have played a ton of basketball, that’s sort of irrelevant because I’m more excited about his athleticism at 7-0 and 255 than anything else. Traditional centers are really something of a throwback in today’s game, but there’s so much potential here that Tchewa is too good of a prospect to pass up. And how about there not being any rating in any way for Tchewa, that’s how off-the-radar he is and that’s almost unheard of in today’s age where it seems that there is no stone uncovered.