Grant McCasland led Texas Tech to the NCAA Elite Eight appearance in his second year with the program. However, one of the key pieces of their success, forward Darrion Williams, has entered the NCAA transfer portal.
Williams, a 6-foot-6 junior who transferred to Texas Tech from Nevada two seasons ago, had his best year as a Red Raider. He averaged 15.1 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists while shooting 43.9% from the field.
Rob Dauster, an analyst with "The Field of 68," discussed Texas Tech's potential next season on the After Dark podcast.
He mentioned sophomore forward JT Toppin will return next season, despite having a chance to be a late first-round pick. He also noted that another young Red Raider, Christian Anderson, will return to Lubbock. However, Dauster's eyes were set on Williams.
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"If they get Darrion Williams back — and he has entered the portal, he's also entered the draft — if you get Darrion Williams back, I'm going to have a very difficult time not penciling Texas Tech into my preseason top three and potentially even number one," Dauster said (1:02).
Jeff Goodman, another analyst at "The Field of 68," does not think Williams will return and said he is focused on going to the NBA.
"I'd be surprised if Darrion Williams comes back," Goodman said. "You know, these kids that are putting their name in for the draft and the portal generally, if they decide to come back to college, there's a lot of teams at that point that will have money left over that have missed on guys that will need to spend it. Usually, when you go in the portal like that, you don't return to the same school."
Grant McCasland welcomes Tyeree Bryan to Texas Tech Red Raiders
While some key players are departing, Grant McCasland and his staff are working to bring in new talent. The Red Raiders welcomed Tyeree Bryan, a 6-foot-5 senior transfer from Santa Clara, to the program on Friday.
Bryan played the last two seasons with the Broncos after spending his freshman year at Indian River State College and his sophomore year at Charleston Southern.
During his senior season, he averaged 10.4 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. He will join Texas Tech, which is coming off a 28-9 season and a run to the Elite Eight of March Madness.
