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What Pittsburgh transfer Federiko Federiko brings to Texas Tech basketball
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- What Pittsburgh transfer Federiko Federiko brings to Texas Tech basketball
A big man has landed with the Texas Tech basketball team via the transfer portal.
Pittsburgh center Federiko Federiko announced on his Instagram Wednesday that he has committed to the Red Raiders. Federiko is the second addition out of the portal this week, joining Drake transfer guard Kevin Overton , who committed on Tuesday.
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Starting his collegiate career in the JUCO ranks at Northern Oklahoma, Federiko spent the last two years with the Panthers, appearing in 68 games with 53 starts. He converted 63.7% of his shot attempts at Pittsburgh, averaging 5.2 rebounds and 5.7 points per game.
The 6-foot-11 center's scoring and block totals dropped last season. After averaging 6.6 points and 1.6 blocks per game during the 2022-23 campaign, those averages dipped to 4.7 and 1.3, respectively, in the 2023-24 campaign. Federiko is brought to help fill the void left behind by Warren Washington, who averaged 9.7 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game in his lone season in Lubbock.
Federiko, who spent last summer training with the Finnish national team, has two years of eligibility remaining and provides size for the Red Raiders to the versatile ideal rotation of Darrion Williams — who confirmed his return to Texas Tech on Tuesday — Devan Cambridge, Kerwin Walton, Chance McMillian and Overton.
Pittsburgh Panthers center Federiko Federiko (33) dunks the ball past Virginia Cavaliers forward Jordan Minor (22) during the first half at John Paul Jones Arena.
It's unlikely head coach Grant McCasland and his staff will utilize Federiko the same way they did Washington, especially on the offensive end. The Helsinki, Finland, native averaged around three shot attempts per game last season and has totaled 59 assists in his career at Pittsburgh. To compare, Washington had 58 helpers this past season in eight less games played.
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The big man also becomes the first transfer McCasland has taken at Texas Tech who didn't appear in the NCAA Tournament the previous year, a big selling point for the Tech coach in last year's recruiting cycle. Federiko did, however, compete in the 2023 NCAA Tournament where he and the Panthers advanced to the second round before falling to Xavier.
Federiko will be the ninth roster member for the Red Raiders and the seventh on scholarship. Texas Tech has six more scholarship positions to fill through recruiting. The transfer portal closes May 1.
With some size brought in, look for the Red Raiders to try to lock down a proven point guard and add more depth around the roster the rest of the spring and early summer.
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This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Pittsburgh transfer Federiko Federiko commits to Texas Tech basketball
