NCAA Basketball: Top 25 team backcourts for 2021-22 season

The Red Raiders are entering a period of transition both regarding their roster and coaching staff. The departure of now Texas head coach Chris Beard created a mass exodus of players from the program leaving only three players returning from last year’s roster contributing meaningful minutes.

Starting from scratch isn’t the ideal scenario for a program that was undoubtedly trending upwards year over year under Beard. The Red Raiders were on the map and the former coach’s track record as an ace recruiter, landing the program’s top-4 recruits in school history, land the team in no man’s land.

Newly promoted head coach Mark Adams worked quickly to secure the future of the team by retaining leading guards Kevin McCullar and Terrence Shannon. The duo were strong assets alongside point guard Mac McClung in 2020, but now take the reins of the team and each should see significant increases in usage and production. Their length also gives Coach Adams the luxury to numerous lineup configurations on a very depleted roster.

Texas Tech was able to secure a pair of talented and proven college guards, Davion Warren (Hampton) and Mylik Wilson (Louisiana-Lafayette), via transfer this off-season. Wilson has been a very reliable backcourt asset for the Ragin’ Cajuns since stepping on campus and will look to carry over his versatile arsenal of production to Lubbock. Meanwhile, his new backcourt-mate Warren is a monster addition for the Red Raiders. The former Pirate guard was 20th in scoring nationally last season and 10th in points per game, both areas desperately needed on the Texas Tech roster this season.

Also adding Adonis Arms (Winthrop) and Sardaar Calhoun (Florida State) in the transfer portal, Texas Tech has nearly completed a full rebuild in a single off-season. While time will tell if the program has missed a beat or not with its new personnel, the program is certainly looking to be in good hands with the pieces they’ve assembled heading into the season.