NCAA Basketball: Analyzing final 5 options for transfer guard Cedric Russell
St. John’s Red Storm
You’d think that even with star wing Julian Champagnie returning and the recent pickup of 6’5 wing Tareq Coburn of Hofstra, the Red Storm still has a couple of spots to potentially fill. And while they do have sophomore point guard Posh Alexander and landed transfers Stef Smith and Montez Mathis, neither are guaranteed to be double-digit producers at the Big Ten level.
And while Russell isn’t a safe bet either, he can add more offense to help provide Champagnie some consistent offense. Even if it’s around 15-20 mpg, Russell creates his own offense and can shoot the ball well enough to space the floor from the perimeter. St. John’s now is an NCAA Tournament contender thanks to Champagnie coming back and is going all-in on next season. Adding Russell would only help that.
Texas Tech Red Raiders
Terrence Shannon, Jr. is back, giving the team another returning starter and a go-to option at the wing. But the Red Raiders are still looking for more guard help after losing Mac McClung and Kyler Edwards. They landed sharpshooting from Sardaar Calhoun from Florida State, along with a trio of mid-major transfer guards in Adonis Arms, Davion Warren, and Mylik Wilson.
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Russell would be in the same position as those three and would compete for minutes. So he could be a starter or the 9th or 10th guy in the rotation. It’s a risk but Texas Tech needs scoring to compete with the likes of Kansas and Texas so as long as the offense translates to the Big 12 level, the Louisiana guard should have a good shot at playing time.