Beard has built his success at Texas Tech heavily through the transfer market. These players are usually from the high major players or low major players coming up a level. His ability to create a roster of transfers consistently speaks to the player development system of Texas Tech. The following is a list of players he has landed over the course of the last three years:
Tariq Owens 18’
Averaged: 8.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.42 blocks
Owens had great versatility on the defensive end for Texas Tech being able to guard multiple positions and being a major factor at the rim. He was a cornerstone for their run to the National Championship game in 2019.
Matt Mooney 18’
Averaged: 11.3 points, 3.3 assists, 3.1 rebounds
Mooney brought great toughness with his ability to make tough shots and he brought great consistency to their National Championship Runner-Up season.
Chris Clarke 19’
Averaged: 5.6 points 6.6 rebounds 4.6 assists
Clarke brought great versatility for Texas Tech with his ability to be a point forward and having the capability to contribute in so many aspects for Texas Tech.
TJ Holyfield 19’
Averaged: 8.9 points 4.5 rebounds 1.2 assists
Holyfield filled a void in the frontcourt and brought a consistency for Texas Tech all season and was a well-rounded big.
Future Impact
Joel Ntambwe 19’
UNLV Transfer
Averaged: 11.8 points 5.5 rebounds 0.6 assists
Ntwabwe a really athletic, versatile forward who will have a major impact on Texas Tech next season.
Marcus Santos-Silva 20’
VCU Transfer
Averaged: 12.8 points 8.9 rebounds 0.9 assists
Santos-Silva is a very productive big who will fit in very well next to Joel Ntambwe in Texas Tech’s frontcourt.
Jamarius Burton 20’
Witchita State Transfer
Averaged: 10.3 points 3.5 rebounds 3.4 assists
Burton is a sit-out transfer who will have a major impact on Texas Tech in many areas, especially defensively with his toughness and versatility.
Mac McClung 20’
Georgetown Transfer
Averaged: 15.7 points 3.1 rebounds 2.4 assists
McClung is a sit-out transfer. He is a high-level guard who is a bucket getter will be the most important piece to Texas Tech’s perimeter in 2020-21.
NBA Development
Zhaire Smith
1st Round 16th Overall Pick 2018
Jarrett Culver
1st Round 6th Overall Pick 2019
High-Level Recruits
Jahmi’us Ramsey 19’
Averaged: 15.0 points 4.0 rebounds 2.2 assists
Ramsey was a scoring machine for Texas Tech and had a major impact on Texas Tech’s offensive success this past season.
Nimari Burnett 20’
Burnett will look to have a similar impact that Ramsey had for Texas Tech as a freshman lead guard on the offensive end.
Defensive Style
Chris Beard has constructed a defense that is as unique as anyone in the country. Furthermore, his system emphasizes forcing the basketball to the baseline at all costs. Their coverages include icing ball screens and extreme foot angles by there perimeter players to force them baseline. This allows Texas Tech to have early help defense and keeping the ball outside the paint. Additionally, this team takes charges as well as any other team in the country. They led the country in defensive efficiency in 2018-2019 at 0.860. This has led Texas Tech to a 94-34 record in his tenure with the 2019 season ending in the National Championship loss to Virginia.
Chris Beard
Beard has shown the ability to continue to evolve with the ability to develop lower-rated recruits to NBA prospects in Jarrett Culver and Zhaire Smith. Furthermore, he brings in transfers at a very high clip. They have great success with them including Matt Mooney and Tariq Owens, who helped them in their Final Four run. Additionally, his defensive scheme has been ahead of the curve and allows Texas Tech to have great success consistently on that end. Now, the success will lead to landing higher-level recruits like Jahmi’us Ramsey and Nimari Burnett. This has Texas Tech heavily in the mix for Jonathan Kuminga the top player in the 2021 class reclassifying to the 2020 class. Texas Tech is in great hands with Chris Beard at the helm with the best success yet to come.
Images Courtesy of, Sporting News, Wreck’ Em Red, Zone Coverage
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