Disclaimer: This is not Seth writing this piece, although I am copying his style this time because this isn’t a quick reaction.

Player: Chibuzo Agbo Jr.
Position: Forward
Height / Weight: 6-7/215
High School: St. Augustine (San Diego, CA.)
Offers: Arizona, Butler, Fresno State, Marquette, Nevada, SDST, UC Irvine, USC +7 more
Recruiting Services: Rivals  | 24/7 Sports 89  | ESPN 79 
Video: YouTube
Cumulative Ranking: 89.47
Commitment Date: August 12, 2019

And now the 2020 basketball class is officially underway. Agbo became the first commitment of the class when he choose the Red Raiders on Monday afternoon.

Committed ‼️Thank you to the Saints basketball family & the Compton Magic basketball family for helping me get to where I am today. Thank you as well to every one else who has invested in me. Tech fans wya??? #GunsUp #WreckEm pic.twitter.com/hf9pxGnDMy

— Chibuzo Agbo (@Babybuzzo) August 12, 2019

This recruitment actually went kind of quick for the Red Raiders. It’s very often you see a guy who’s ranked in the Top 150 like Agbo commit to a team only about a month after his offer. Chris Beard and his main recruiter, Brian Burg, offered Agbo on June 25th of this year.

About a month later on August 6th, he named his Top 5 of Arizona, Marquette, San Diego State, Texas Tech and USC. The weekend after that (or last weekend), he visited Texas Tech. After returning to California, he surprisingly committed to the Red Raiders without a visit to schools such as Arizona and Marquette.

A few things to think about here. For starters, Texas Tech just went into the backyard of Arizona, San Diego State and USC, and stole a recruit within a month and a half. Wow. That’s what the big programs do. That being said, he is in their backyard, so he’ll probably still get a lot of attention from them. I don’t expect this to be over.

Right now, he’s regarded as a Top 150 player, but he’s actually supposed to rise. Both 247sports and Rivals mentioned that his stock is going to rise due to his play this summer, and 247sports mentioned specifically to expect a rise in his ranking. So by the end of August, the Red Raiders may have yet another Top 100 player committed.

If you look at his three profiles, you may notice that he’s listed as a small forward and a power forward. But remember, Chris Beard plays postionless basketball, so his position doesn’t matter. That being said, he’s actually perfect for what Texas Tech wants to do.

Ideally in Beard’s systems, Agbo would be a stretch four. He’s got the height and the weight to rebound down low when needed, and can guard bigger guys down below. What intrigues me is his shot. He looks strong enough and fast enough to play in the paint, but also can get hot from the outside. And if you know anything about the evolution of basketball the past 5-10 years, this is of vital importance.

He’s long, athletic, strong, and already possesses some pretty good basketball skills. He’s a guy I could see come in a contributing right away (depending obviously on how the roster looks a year from now). He’s going to do great in Lubbock.

Links:

I’m not going to link all the info from these stories. Go support them and clink on their links below:

• 247Sports: Four-star forward Chibuzo Agbo commits to Texas Tech – National Recruiting Writer Evan Daniels talks to Agbo about how development was key in his decision, Brian Burg, and what he thinks he can bring to Texas Tech. Found it interesting he mentioned “the next couple of years” and also the distance.
• Rivals: Texas Tech lands three-star forward Chibuzo Agbo – National Recruiting Writer Corey Evans talked to Agbo about the work ethic of the Red Raiders. Evans also mentions the strength of Agbo’s game, and who else Texas Tech is going hard after this recruiting class.
• Lubbock AJ: Agbo verbally commits to Texas Tech – Carlos Silva Jr. talks with Jerry Meyer of 247sports about Agbo and how he fits with Texas Tech. Silva also breaks down how the recruitment of Agbo went down and what the scouts think of him.

Other Basketball Recruiting News:

Due to newly found work and the schedule that comes with it, it’s hard to keep track of all the recruiting news now. That’s the reason why you’ve seen the lack of Possible Red Raiders this year. I don’t know how much we’ll see of it in the future, but who knows.

That being said, I still mildly pay attention to recruiting, just not enough to give insight or write up something on it. This is especially the case with basketball, since I like college basketball more and it’s tons of fun seeing if Tech is going to land a Top 100 recruit.

The Red Raiders have three scholarships open for the 2020 class unless someone goes pro or transfers. Chances are, this will happen to one or two guys, so I’m guessing this class will be four or five commits. Let’s break down where Tech stands with some key 2020 recruits:

• Nimari Burnett – The No. 23 player in the nation named his Top 5 yesterday and named Texas Tech as one of the teams. I wouldn’t get my hopes up on this one though. 247sports had a clear three in the lead prior to the Top 5 list, and the Red Raiders weren’t one of them.
• Micah Peavy – Peavy is this year’s Jahmu’is Ramsey. No, the forward hasn’t committed, but I feel confident he’s going to pledge to Texas Tech at some point. In fact, he played along Ramsey at Duncanville. The No. 46 player in the nation has couple visits planned, his first of which is another visit to Texas Tech for the UTEP game. The crowd better be wild Saturday night.
• Mwani Wilkinson – Wilkinson is another guy I could see committing to the Red Raiders. I’m not as confident as I am on Peavy, but I like our chances. He named his Top 5 of LSU, Texas Tech, UNLV, USC and Vanderbilt on Monday. WIlkinson had no offers in March and now had a over a dozen. He’s a high three star forward right now but could increase he rating soon.
• Hassan Diarra – I haven’t really heard a whole lot about Diarra, but Corey Evans mentioned him as a top Texas Tech target. In fact, I looked him up via Twitter, and there’s not a whole lot of info on him in general. Seems like a private guy. The No. 66 player in the nation though is interesting, because he’s from Chris Beard’s favorite school; Putnam Science Academy. I thought Malik Ondigo and Josh Mballa leaving might push the two away, but apparently not. The Rivals FanCast (their version of the 247 fan crystal ball) has Diarra going to Tech.