NCAA Basketball: Pros and cons of each landing spot for TJ Holyfield

By Chris Kern | Apr 30, 2019

DALLAS, TX - MARCH 15: TJ Holyfield #22 of the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks shoots against Zach Smith #11 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the first half in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at American Airlines Center on March 15, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /

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TULSA, OKLAHOMA – MARCH 24: (L-R) Davide Moretti #25, Tariq Owens #11, and Matt Mooney #13 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders celebrate their 78-58 victory over the Buffalo Bulls after their second-round game of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at BOK Center on March 24, 2019, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /

Texas Tech Red Raiders

Pros

The pros for Texas Tech compared to these other two programs are clear. They’re coming off of a National Championship appearance despite losing a large part of their roster from the year before. They will lose some key players such as Jarrett Culver and Matt Mooney from the team, but they do bring back a very good group of guards.

The reason that the team was so succesful was the play of the graduate transfers. They had good play from everyone and they continued to improve as the season went along, but it was the play of Tariq Owens and Mooney that helped get this team over the top. They made the Elite Eight in 2018 without these two, but after bringing these two in they were able to improve despite losing key players such as Keenan Evans and Zhaire Smith.

Chris Beard has completely turned this program around in such a short time. He has had an amazing three years which has earned him a large contract extension that makes him the third highest paid coach in the country. In his three seasons at Texas Tech, he has a 76-31 record.

While Texas Tech will have high expectations next season yet again they do still have some holes they need to fill inside. Bringing in Holyfield would help them solidify their frontcourt since they do play so much small ball.

Cons

The cons are that there are question marks surrounding how good this team will actually be. Yes, they will have high expectations again, but that’s more based off of last season’s success rather than the players they have. They have top 25 talent, but they don’t seem to have the pieces to compete for a championship.

With Jarrett Culver on the way out who will be the next star player in Lubbock? They bring back guys such as Kyler Edwards and Davide Moretti, but it’s difficult to envision those guys making up for the loss of Culver. You do have to give Coach Beard the benefit of the doubt though after watching what he pulled off last season.

Another reason he should think twice about becoming a Red Raider is the lack of offensive touches he might receive. This is a defensive-minded team that has traditionally been an offense that runs through the guards so Holyfield might not get the touches he would like. I’m sure Chris Beard is capable of making changes to the offense, but personally, he could likely be more involved elsewhere.

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