TCU Basketball: Horned Frogs still have hope despite loss of RJ Nembhard
It’s been an offseason filled with nothing but roster transactions for TCU Basketball, with players both coming and going from the transfer portal and NBA Draft. The latest news is arguably the biggest, as All-Big 12 guard RJ Nembhard has made it official that he’s staying in the 2021 Draft, ending his time in college.
The former four-star prospect was injured in his first season but started as the team’s point guard in the past two years. He grew into a star player, averaging a team-leading 15.7 ppg and 4.0 apg, along with 4.3 rpg. The only real “knock” against Nembhard‘s production has been his relatively low shooting percentages, with a career 38% from the field and 31% from three-point range but an argument could be made that the supporting cast helped play a role in that.
The Horned Frogs will have another group of “role” players for next season, as there has been a complete roster turnover. Nembhard, along with big man Kevin Samuel and starters Kevin Easley and PJ Fuller is now gone, along with several other outgoing transfers. It leaves just breakout freshman Mike Miles and Chuck O’Bannon as the lone rotational players from last season, along with Francisco Farabello, who played in nine games (started in 5) before dealing with injuries.
The good news for TCU is that the coaching staff has been arguably rebuilding the roster completely through the transfer portal. On the perimeter, the team landed UT-Arlington transfer Shahada Wells (16.8 ppg and 3.8 apg), Vanderbilt guard Max Evans (8.5 ppg), along with two defensive-minded guards in Texas A&M guard Cashius McNeilly and Damion Baugh from Memphis.
They also landed a pair of high-reward players in former top-50 wing Micah Peavy from Texas Tech, along with top-tier JUCO big man Souleymane Doumbia, one of the best overall players in the 2021 class. But the best overall newcomer has to be Emanuel Miller, who averaged a team-leading 16.2 ppg and 8.2 rpg in 17 games played last season for Texas A&M.
With both Nembhard and Samuel gone, the Horned Frogs will need someone to step up alongside Miles to be the leading contributors next season. Miller has the best chance to do that for the team and play at an all-conference level.
Next. WTE Big 12 power rankings for 2021-22. dark
It’s going to be a risk for teams to rely so heavily on the transfer portal year in and year out but this offseason, TCU Basketball did a fairly good job when it comes to landing talent good enough to play in the Big 12. So even without their star guard in RJ Nembhard, don’t assume that the Horned Frogs will for sure be in the bottom of the league next year. They have just enough to cause some headaches for opponents in 2021-22.