Eligibility Chart

A quick few disclaimers. There are 13 scholarship spots available each year. The black block represents a scholarship year utilized, while the red block represents a redshirt year available. The red blocks are not counted against the scholarship limits of 13.

When the season started, this roster had Nimari Burnett, Joel Ntambwe, and Esahia Nyiwe. I am struggling to remember, but I think that Nyiwe was jettisoned after it was determined that Ntambwe decided he would return to Texas Tech after sitting out all of last year in a redshirt year. Ntambwe decided to pick up and leave after playing a supporting role to start the season, then Burnett decided to leave after shooting terribly, but playing 15 to 20 minutes a game.

My level of hope for Burnett and Ntambwe were high before the season started, thinking that they would be significant players for Texas Tech this year and years to come. Heck, Burnett was a McDonald’s All-American and that was a huge selling point for Beard and the program.

In a normal non-Covid-19 year, the roster in 2022 would represent what we can expect. In a Covid-19 year, there’s the possibility that Marcus Santos-Silva could perhaps return and not count against the scholarship limit. To say that I have a handle on the scholarship limits, I’d be lying. But what I can say that in a normal year, the above items would be correct.

The only absolute addition to the roster will be Jaylon Tyson, who will arrive in the summer. The roster above represents how the year finished. I honestly do not know if Benson was on scholarship, but it doesn’t really matter.

As we continue to try to learn things about how rosters are built and expectations for players. I am all about projections and I’d state that I’m pretty confident about the ability of Jaylon Tyson. Perhaps the biggest reason I am confident that Tyson is going to be so good because he can shoot and he’s got size. From a talent standpoint, Tyson does have the handles, the length, and the ability to shoot. From a chemistry standpoint, we won’t know. I think that Tyson plays shooting guard and not small forward, but the available minutes may be limited if Edwards, Nadolny, Burton, and McClung all return, which is, right now, all possible.

I am not concerned about Tyson finding minutes at some spot, but I’d advise you not to count your chickens before they hatch.

From a frontcourt standpoint, Santos-Silva played a huge amount of minutes and generally represented Texas Tech’s frontcourt. I love Smith’s energy and I think that he’ll be a huge player for Texas Tech as long as he sticks around.

Regardless, the frontcourt needs significant help. I’m of the opinion that Goldin is not ready. Not to play significant minutes. Maybe 10 next year, but his skill and strength needs a ton of work.

I know what Beard likes to do, which is play a bunch of 6’7″ guys, but I think that was Texas Tech’s downfall and I hope that Beard realizes that his best team had guys like Norense Odiase and Tariq Owens. I know that they were special and incredibly unique, but a strong frontcourt could do wonders for this team next year. Realistically, the frontcourt and the roster construction is something that’s probably left for another day.

The point of this post was to get a starting point for the roster building of 2021. It’s about get get interesting (because it is always interesting).