Texas Tech head coach Chris Beard has now officially built a team that was strong enough to go to the NCAA National Championship. The Red Raiders are set on facing Virginia tonight, but how did Beard build such a team that was doubted by preseason polls and the media essentially all season? Let’s dissect Texas Tech’s active roster, their recruitment rankings and the stats they have put up both this season and the tournament to see how Beard’s development of his players put the Red Raiders at the grandest stage in college basketball.
Culver was a three-star recruit out of Lubbock and from Lubbock-Coronado High School. Culver received a total of 13 offers but committed to Texas Tech on Sept. 22, 2016. He chose Tech instead of Baylor, Illinois, Lamar, Louisiana Tech, Oklahoma State, Oral Roberts, Rice, Sam Houston State, Santa Clara, TCU, Texas and UT Arlington. No short of big-time schools but chose to go with Tech just before the first season of the new head coach in Beard.
Since then, Culver was named the Big 12 Player of the Year this season has had countless weekly awards and is projected as a first-round draft pick, in some of those projections as a part of the top five.
Culver averages 18.6 points per game, has a 47.1 field goal percentage, a 31.6 three-point percentage and 70.3 free throw percentage. After Zhaire Smith departed for the NBA, Culver has become the star ambassador for Lubbock on the national scale.
Moretti, from Bologna, Italy, was not ranked by Rivals at all and received just four offers from Tech, Connecticut, Indiana and Utah. However, he chose to go with the Red Raiders on June 12, 2017, just after Beard’s first year as head coach. Since then, Moretti has made a name for himself as one of the best three-point and free throw shooters for the Red Raiders.
Moretti struggled to get going during non-conference play but once the conference started, a fire was lit that could not be put out as he now averages 11.4 points per game, has a 49.8 field goal percentage, a 45.8 three-point percentage and a 92.2 free throw percentage. As of right now, Moretti is the second in the nation when it comes to free throws, just .2 percent behind Nicholls State’s Gavin Peppers.
Matt Mooney
Mooney, who made a name for himself dropping 22 points on Michigan State to send Tech to the National Championship, was just a one-star recruit, according to ESPN. He had a scout grade of 59 and was ranked No. 163 in his position, No. 148 in the region and No. 43 in the state. After playing time at both South Dakota and Air Force, Mooney decided to be a graduate transfer and chose Tech over Creighton and Northwestern.
Since then, Mooney has been one of the most aggressive players for the Red Raiders and has scored nearly in double digits in all stages of the NCAA Tournament. He is also a defensive threat as he totals 13 steals in the NCAA Tournament with his highest number of three steals being against Gonzaga in the Elite Eight. Mooney has a 42.6 field goal percentage, a 38.8 three-point percentage and a 78.2 free throw percentage.
Owens was a three-star recruit from Laurel, Maryland, and originally was at Tennessee for his freshman year but then transferred to St. John’s before becoming a graduate transfer to Tech. Owens had a total of 15 offers coming out of high school which included teams such as Florida State, Miami (FL), Seton Hall, South Florida, Washington, Cincinnati and Maryland. When he transferred to Tech, he chose the Red Raiders over Maryland and Ohio State.
Since his time in Lubbock, Owens has become the block master for the Red Raiders with a total of 91 blocks on the season. Owens had three blocks against both Gonzaga and Michigan State before his performance was cut short due to a leg injury sustained in the game. Owens has given his body for the team all season, slamming against the court and the media tables and leaves all of his effort out onto the court.
However, he was also the blocking champion for St. John’s and averaged 2.8 blocks per game which has only been achieved before in Tech history by Tony Battie and Brodney Kennard.
Odiase is one of the oldest players on the Tech roster as he started with the Red Raiders even before Beard entered the picture. Odiase began his freshman season in 2014-15. It is common for players to transfer because of coaching changes, but Odiase stayed on board when Beard walked in as the new head coach, and now he is playing in a National Championship.
Odiase sat out Beard’s first year because of a foot injury and was medically redshirted. The following year, Odiase only had 3.8 points per game and had 4.5 rebounds per game. During the Red Raiders’ Elite Eight run last year, Odiase only had 1.5 points per game and 2.3 rebounds per game.
While not being an offensive threat this year, Odiase has become a star player of his own by overcoming all of the adversity and tragedy he has faced. This year, he averages 4.1 points per game and 5.3 rebounds per game. In the NCAA Tournament, Odiase has been a rebounding machine off the glass as his best performance was against Buffalo when he had 15 rebounds and 14 points in that game. Odiase also was faced with pressure after the exit of Owens but rose to the test with having nine rebounds against Michigan State in the Final Four.
One of the higher ranked recruits on the Tech roster is Francis with four stars. Originally, Francis played at Florida for the 2015-16 season but transferred to Tech for Beard’s first year and had to sit out because of transfer rules. The following season, Francis averaged 5.1 points per game and played in 36 out of the 37 games in that Elite Eight season.
This season, Francis averages 6.2 points per game, has a 36.1 field goal percentage, a 32.8 three-point percentage and a 66.7 free throw percentage. Francis has also taken the role of one of the team’s biggest motivators as one of the Red Raiders’ most popular gifs on social media is of Francis yelling after a win.
In this year’s tournament, Francis has been consistent in scoring with his best performance coming against Michigan State (nine points). However, Francis also scored six points against both Gonzaga and Northern Kentucky. Now, he too plays in the National Championship against Virginia.
Edwards is the first true freshman off the bench in essentially every game. Coming out of high school, Edwards was a three-star recruit and received 20 total offers including Butler, Iowa State, LSU, Missouri, Oklahoma State, Tulsa, USC, Utah State and Virginia Tech. He decided to become a Red Raider on Sept. 17, 2017.
In his freshman year, Edwards currently averages 5.3 points per game while having a 40.1 field goal percentage, a 43.9 three-point percentage and a 64.7 free throw percentage. During the tournament, Edwards has been one of the guys called upon to create a spark if the offense has become stagnant. His best performance in the NCAA Tournament was against Gonzaga in the Elite Eight as he scored eight points. He also scored six points against both Buffalo and Michigan State.
Corprew began his collegiate career with South Plains College before coming to Tech as a four-star recruit. Since then, Corprew is one of the most aggressive and tough players on the team and is not afraid to get after the ball on the rebounder or drive to the basket.
Since coming to Tech, Corprew averages 5.1 points per game, has a 56.4 field goal percentage, a 40.8 three-point percentage and a 66.7 free throw percentage. Corprew has not been much of a factor in this year’s NCAA Tournament but that can change as he can be explosive as he was in the regular season. His best conference game was against TCU when he scored 12 points. Corprew shows the signs of becoming a true leader in the future and has come in clutch with getting key rebounds in the NCAA Tournament, especially when Tech needed it most.
