2024 Red Raider Hoops Report Card
The curtain has been drawn on the first season for Texas Tech under head coach Grant McCasland and it ended with an NCAA Tournament berth. Though the result in Pittsburgh was far from what many hoped, the Red Raiders finished with a 23-11 record on the season.
As the offseason begins, let’s take some time to grade the Red Raiders for their season performances.
Jarrett: B+
No change in grade for “The McMillionaire” in my final assessment. McMillian was a big spark for this team off the bench all season for this team.
The junior Grand Canyon transfer was an integral piece of the rotation, averaging 10 points per game and was a near-40 percent three pointer shooter.
Though his best performances mostly came on the road, McMillian was always a fair defender and contributed on the boards. McMillian’s role should increase next season.
Justin: B
McMillian was an excellent piece off the bench for the Red Raiders this season, truly believe that he was key for you. Should’ve gotten more consideration for Big 12 6th Man of the Year, in my opinion. Will be interesting to see what role he enters into this coming season and if he can improve a bit defensively, because the athleticism is there.
Jarrett: F
After reassessing our progress report grades, there were some that were a bit generous. This was one of them. The expectations were not exactly through the roof for the sophomore guard, but any sign of improvement would have been a welcome one.
When Washington played, it was often just out of pure necessity and there was nothing that he offered that made you question his lack of minutes. There were maybe two moments across the whole season where I was impressed, but other than that, Washington was a non-factor.
Justin: D-
I know some folks had higher hopes for Lamar this season, but it just was not there. As Jarrett said, wasn’t a whole lot that jumped off the page when he did get on the court. Hate to say he regressed from 2022-23, but did he?
Jarrett: B+
The most streaky player on this team, a tough month of February from Isaacs has done a bit of damage to his final grade.
Overall, Isaacs appeared to make significant strides in the other facets of his game this season. He was a willing passer, even if it got him into trouble sometimes, and his savvy on the defensive floor was welcomed after being a liability last season.
Isaacs somewhat gets the De’Vion Harmon pass from a season ago, if it wasn’t him offensively, then who was it going to be? That doesn’t entirely excuse his at-times atrocious shooting numbers, but there is definitely work to be done on that end of the floor.
If Isaacs does in fact return for his third season in Lubbock, getting to be able to go straight into work with this staff should hopefully pay dividends for him.
Justin: B-
Pop is what he is at this point. The guy who is going to hit the big shot but is also the guy who is going to take the shots that make you question everything. Very polarizing player and his ice cold streak in February, and tough night in the NCAA tournament, dropped the grade for me.
Jarrett: A+
D5 earned a B in the progress report and he completely blew that out of the water down the stretch of the season. Williams became a calming force on the offensive end when the rest of the team was out of sync.
His performance against Kansas will never be forgotten and the level of pure consistency he displayed with the ball in his hands was superb.
Williams was, like many (including myself) figured to be, the most versatile player on this team.
He was a distributor, a rebounder, a defender and a scorer in essentially whatever role the staff asked of him. Playing on the wing, down low, mid-paint, defending the other team’s bigs, he did it all.
Williams was just a sophomore this season. The future is glowing for him.
Justin: A+
I could probably just copy what Jarrett wrote and put it down, but Darrion was everything for this team, especially in the back half of conference play. I’ll remember that KU game forever but he was excellent outside of that, too. Wished he finished the year healthy, but I’m uber-excited for what the future holds.
Jarrett: B
Joe Toussaint was quite an interesting case this season. For how emotionally connected he was as a leader for this team, his production offensively was not ever something that you could count on consistently.
The super-senior made up for it by being one of the most rock solid on-ball defenders this team had in his best attempts to impact the game in more ways than scoring.
Toussaint would go through stretches where his Bronx flair and attitude was unguardable, while there were times where his size hindered his ability to find clean looks. With how highly he was regarded amongst those involved, Toussaint did well in helping establish the culture.
Justin: B
Toussaint is going to be one of those guys that you remember for his contributions if McCasland can continue to set his culture in Lubbock. Joe was all about the willingness to guard that Grant has echoed but his size held him back from a scoring perspective but he took care of the ball and put you in good spots for most of the year.
Jarrett: A
I can’t legitimately drop Washington’s grade considering he essentially missed the rest of the season not long after the progress reports dropped. It is extremely disappointing that Washington’s Tech career ended the way it did. Add his injury to the long list of “What-ifs” in Tech Athletics lore.
For what it is worth, Washington was phenomenal when he was healthy, it is just a shame that didn’t get to see it through to the end of the year.
Justin: A
Can’t change based on the outcome, but man, this is likely the biggest “what if” on the year. Extremely frustrating for everyone involved, especially Warren. Really hope that he gets another shot to play basketball, and now Tech has to replace a massive key to this team.
Jarrett: C+
Yalaho was supposed to be a non-factor this season before being thrown into the fire after WW got injured. Obviously the expectations were not major for the kid, but I thought Yalaho showed some promise in the time he did get on the court.
Moving forward for me, I think this offseason is imperative in determining what kind of player Yalaho truly can be at the college level. Kind of like how Robert Jennings was in my eyes at the end of last season, what can Yalaho do to make himself a solid P5 player?
He’s got the frame where it doesn’t seem like his offensive capabilities will be tied to just one area of the court, rather his potential can be unlocked to make him more versatile.
Justin: B-
Yalaho was pretty impressive for the Red Raiders, especially in conference play when he was able to really help McCasland's team out during conference play.
As Jarrett said, this offseason will be key to unlock a lot for a freshman, and I hope that we can look at what Robert Jennings did this season as the blueprint for Yalaho.
Jarrett: B
Kerwin’s development this season was a joy to watch and he was never a detriment to the team when he was on the floor. I thought he did a great job taking care of the basketball, he only turned the ball over 13 times which is absurd.
While his shooting came at times when you needed it most, his overall skill set on offense was never the most dynamic but he was not a liability this season since he got back into form. There was not much about Walton’s game that was too special, but he played his role well.
Justin: B-
The minus behind the “B” comes from what is likely a personal bias in the fact that I liked McMillian in the role that Walton played much better. Kerwin was solid, and it was really cool to see him blossom after being buried alive last season. Him putting the ball on the floor and knocking down threes helped mask the complete lack of defensive skill.
Jarrett: B+
Jennings gets a substantial upgrade in my eyes based on how well he developed in the absence of Warren Washington. At the midway mark of Big 12 play, the jury was still very much out on what Jennings was as a player and some of those questions were answered when he was forced to get significant playing time.
Heading into next season, very much like Yalaho, there is a lot of work Jennings can do offensively to give himself a true identity on that end of the floor. For what it's worth, however, Jennings did his best to cover up for the pitfalls of this team without its biggest presence, and that was admirable.
Justin: B+
Jennings grade at the mid-point was low but he had an excellent second half of the season and was a massive piece for the Red Raiders down the stretch.
Heading into his junior year, Tech will need Jennings to continue to develop in what could be an expanded role next season.
