As of this writing, little solid information has leaked out regarding which transfer prospects Texas Tech head coach Grant McCasland is focusing on. This is undoubtedly due to the fact that he is extremely busy transitioning from North Texas to Texas Tech, evaluating the players currently on Tech’s roster, and establishing his coaching and administrative staff. We will certainly receive more hard data in the coming days and weeks.
Until then here is a bit of a wish list from yours truly. These are portal prospects I have watched in the past and believe are capable of helping Texas Tech get back into the NCAA tourney and making a deep run once there. But McCasland, like all coaches, knows exactly what he’s looking for in players, and that is what will determine whether he even considers any of the players on this list.
Hakim Hart, senior, 6′ 8″, SM, Maryland: Given that Grant McCasland is a defensive-oriented coach, he might be interested in taking a look at Maryland swingman Hakim Hart. The best defender on a Terrapins squad that reached the round of 32 in the NCAA tournament, the 6-foot-8 Hart is a player who can guard every position on the court. He also played the most minutes of any Terrapin in 2022-23, which tells you something about what coach Kevin Willard thought of him.
On offense, Hart is strictly catch-and-shoot from the perimeter. He has something of a push shot like former Red Raider, Terrence Shannon, and hit 33 percent from distance. That’s a respectable percentage, but not something around which you’d build your offense.
Truthfully, Hart is more effective backing down defenders from the wing, and then spinning to the rack. At 6-foot-8, and with a solid frame, he’s a very difficult cover in that sort of iso situation. Hart also has good enough vision and floor game to be able to pass effectively out of those back-downs. He averaged 2.6 assists and only 1.4 turnovers last season. As an added bonus, Hart not only runs the court well for a man his size, he also leads the break effectively, acting like a point forward.
Hart has one year of eligibility remaining.
Hunter Sallis, junior, 6′ 5″, CG, Gonzaga: Hunter Sallis didn’t put up big numbers for Gonzaga this season, but that is no reason to sleep on him. He was only a sophomore and he played for a team that reached the Elite Eight. Still, Sallis did earn 17 minutes of action per game. He is a prime candidate to break out for somebody next season. As of the present, his home state Nebraska Cornhuskers, Louisville, and Michigan are known to have contacted Sallis.
Sallis came to Gonzaga with the reputation of being a great shooter, but that will never be his role at the D1 level. He is strictly a combo guard as of the present, but shows tendencies of being able to develop into a point man. And he’s got two years to do it.
The best aspect of Sallis’ game is his ability to drive. He’s not extraordinarily quick, but is a very physical offensive player, and a master of the Euro-step. Sallis is very hard to keep away from the rim, and when he gets there, finishes at a high rate. Although Sallis connected on only 26 percent of his treys last season, he shot 47 percent from the floor. He was also almost 2-to-1 on assist/turnover ratio. Sallis scored only five points per contest last season. I expect him to come close to trebling that number in 2023-24.
It remains to be seen how good of a defender Sallis will be. He was nothing special on that end of the court in his first two seasons, and Gonzaga was only No. 182 nationally in defensive efficiency last season.
Olivier Nkamhoua, senior, 6′ 9″, PF, Tennessee: There was not a more athletic 6-foot-9 player in college basketball last season than Tennessee’s Olivier Nkamhoua. And because of that athleticism, it is certainly possible he may one day be earning his crust of bread in the NBA. Indeed, he has submitted his name for the NBA draft, but it seems probable he will play his final year of college basketball.
Offensively, Nkamhoua has every weapon in the arsenal. He has an excellent midrange face-up jumper and even shoots it respectably from beyond the arc. Nkamhoua is comfortable with his back to the basket, and can hit the turn-around J, or put it on the deck and get to the hoop where he is a ferocious finisher. Nkamhoua can also face up and drive it effectively from about 16 feet in. And finally, he is a lethal weapon on the screen-and-roll. Nkamhoua averaged 11 points per game in Rick Barnes’ defensive-minded Tennessee program last season, but there’s no reason he couldn’t up that number considerably in a more up-tempo system. That may not be Texas Tech, of course.
On the other hand, Nkamhoua would be a plug-and-play defender for the Red Raiders. You simply don’t get on the court for Barnes if you don’t guard.
If Texas Tech does make a push for Nkamhoua, they’ll likely have to beat Kentucky, among others, for his services. John Calipari has reportedly contacted him.
