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What New Mexico transfer JT Toppin brings to Texas Tech basketball
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- What New Mexico transfer JT Toppin brings to Texas Tech basketball
Grant McCasland said last week he wanted to add some more size to the Texas Tech basketball team for the 2024-25 season. This should suffice.
JT Toppin, a 6-foot-9 Dallas native, announced his commitment to the Red Raiders on Tuesday. Shortly after, Texas Tech announced Toppin has already signed with the program.
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Toppin is coming off a freshman campaign with New Mexico in which he won the Mountain West freshman of the year award, the same award won by new teammate Darrion Williams at Nevada the year before. He averaged 12.4 points, 9.1 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game for the Lobos.
Toppin put his name into the transfer portal and declared for the NBA Draft earlier this offseason. He went through the combine but withdrew from consideration on Tuesday, a quicker turnaround for a commit and signing than usual.
Ranked a four-star recruit by 247 Sports, Toppin played his high school ball at Oak Cliff Faith Family Academy where he was named the Class 4A player of the year and helped lead the team to two state championships in 2022 and 2023. There, he was also a teammate to Jazz Henderson , who committed to the Red Raiders as a preferred walk-on in March.
New Mexico Lobos forward JT Toppin (15) in the second half against the Air Force Falcons at Clune Arena.
During his lone season at New Mexico, Toppin led the Mountain West in field goal percentage (62.3%), rebounds per game (9.1), offensive rebounds (3.67) and blocks (1.9). He started 35 of the Lobos' 36 games and was fourth on the team in scoring and averaged 26.6 minutes per contest.
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Toppin immediately changes the complexion of the Red Raiders in terms of athleticism and depth. The move brings more height to the front court, which Tech greatly lacked last season, and allows McCasland to potentially bring 6-foot-11 Pittsburgh transfer Federiko Federiko off the bench or employ he and Toppin at the same time for a bigger, longer lineup.
Two areas to look at are Toppin's outside shooting and free throws. He attempted 32 3-pointers last season, making 11 of them, and was a 56.5% shooter on free throws. Those, however, can be covered up by the surrounding players with Toppin on the floor, which will likely consist of Williams, Drake transfer Kevin Overton, Minnesota transfer Elijah Hawkins and one of Chance McMillian or Kerwin Walton in most situations.
As important as Warren Washington was to Texas Tech last year, the team found a new dynamic with smaller, quicker lineups on the floor, which is a role perfectly suited for Toppin's talents.
Texas Tech has two remaining scholarship spots open to fill before the start of the season. McCasland said last week the plan was to use all available roster spots and may wait until late in the summer to complete the roster.
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UP TO DATE: Texas Tech basketball transfer portal tracker: Who's in, who's out for Red Raiders?
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: New Mexico transfer JT Toppin commits to Texas Tech basketball
