It’s funny how a day changes things on the basketball front. The day before, Jaylon Tyson announces he enters the transfer portal and yesterday was that Nevada forward Darrion Williams (6-6/210) would transfer to Texas Tech. I was this close /holds finger and thumb really close together/ to mentioning that on April 10th, a writer from the Arizona 24/7 site, Jason Scheer (who is also in the know on Arizona and conference realignment), predicted that Williams would transfer to Texas Tech, so a full 8 days ahead of Williams’ commitment. Austin Massey predicted it the day of, which to me doesn’t really count as much as doing 8 days ahead of time.
Back to Williams, he averaged 7.6 points, 7.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.4 steals from last year while shooting 46% from the field and 36% from beyond the arc. Williams is a guy that is a rebounding force, doesn’t turn the ball over and has a high steal rate. He has a 5.5 basketball plus/minus for the year and a 111 offensive rating and if we’re into comparisons, Tyson was at a 5.7 and a 110 offensive rating, so these are similar players and maybe this gives some insight as to why Tyson is transferring. The other interesting note is that Williams has a very low usage rage, meaning that he doesn’t have the ball in his hands hardly at all.
Wreck em 🖤❤️ #committed pic.twitter.com/IwFZSd2WzI
— Darrion Williams (@OfficialDW03) April 18, 2023
Texas Tech beat Grand Canyon 6-1, behind strong performances from freshman Taber Fast who allowed 1 run and 2 hits in 6 innings and 2-run bombs from Ty Coleman and Gavin Kash, who has 17 homers on the season. Today’s game is at noon and will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Baylor coming to Lubbock this weekend.
Interesting point of discussion. Lots of good teams here and it is strange how Texas never receives any preseason hype.
ESPN released their FPI for 2023 with Texas the highest ranked in the #Big12.
Check it out at https://t.co/PbB9RFhg0C#hookem #sooners #gofrogs #wreckem #sicem #chargeon #emaw #gopokes #cyclones #gobearcats #gocoogs #hailwv #gocougs #rockchalk pic.twitter.com/rAKDYU9Kbw
— The Ten12 Network (@Ten12Network) April 18, 2023
Offensive lineman Erik Gray has entered the transfer portal and I haven’t kept totally up to date with it, but offensive lineman Cade Briggs, cornerback Hut Graham, and offensive lineman Trevor Roberson previously entered the portal. Receiver Trey Cleveland, defensive lineman Syncere Massey, and safety Kobee Minor transferred in December and January. Sites like 24/7 Sports and On3 have team-specific portal sites and I would guess Rivals does too.
The Red and Black Gala was held on Monday night and it always looks like a great time where these students are celebrated and they all get dressed up. There are pictures there at the bottom of the post.