Texas Tech succumbed to two Final Four teams in the NCAA Tournament in its first two seasons under coach Grant McCasland — including eventual national champion Florida last year in a gritty Elite Eight outing — but is reloaded this offseason with a major roster overhaul that could catapult it into contender status in the Big 12 and beyond.
McCasland and his staff lost three of their five starters from last year’s 28-win team — assists leader Elijah Hawkins, minutes leader Chance McMillian and star swiss-army knife Darrion Williams — but they managed to lure back Big 12 Player of the Year JT Toppin and have put plenty of pieces around him to remain one of the most fearsome squads in the country.
However, whether the sum of the returning and incoming parts are enough to help the Red Raiders withstand its losses remains to be seen. Toppin is the only Tech player to have made double-digit starts with the team last season (though Christian Anderson returns after making seven starts). The answer will largely come down to how well its transfers acclimate to a new level.
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David Cobb
Of the five transfers headed to Lubbock, four made at least two dozen starts last season elsewhere at UNC Greensboro (Donovan Atwell), VCU (Luke Bamgboye), Washington State (LeJuan Watts) and Santa Clara (Tyeree Bryan). But making the leap from the mid-major level to the high-major level and contributing to winning basketball in the Big 12…
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