A year after advancing to the NCAA Tournament championship game, Chris Beard may have to endure one of his most difficult coaching jobs at the Division I level.

The Texas Tech men’s basketball coach, who enters his fourth season at the helm, will look to lead a group with several newcomers – including two graduate transfers and a batch of seven freshmen, two who sat out last season.

It’s not a situation he’s never run into, considering his coaching journey included stints at the junior college level, but Beard did admit it’s going to be a challenge to get his freshmen acclimated on the offensive and defensive end.

“In junior college, when I was a head coach, you got all freshmen and sophomores,” Beard said, alluding to his coaching journey which included stops at Fort Scott Community College in Kansas and Seminole State College in Oklahoma before making his way to the Division I ranks. “But, yes, by far, this is the youngest team that we’ve ever had at the four-year level.”

While the number of freshmen is a bit jarring, the Red Raiders do return a trio of veterans – Davide Moretti, Kyler Edwards and Avery Benson – who were apart of the program’s inaugural run to the national title contest in which the program finished with a record of 31-7 and 14-4 in Big 12 play to claim a share of the conference’s regular season title.

Beard is banking on that experience to pay dividends throughout the season.

Another small edge is the fact the Texas Tech basketball team was afforded the opportunity to participate in a foreign tour set in the Bahamas over the summer, which meant 10 extra practices and allowing the Red Raiders to compete in three contests against squads with professional players.

“On a positive note, there’s a case to be made that every player could contribute this year,” Beard said. “Every guy showed the ability to make plays at this level. Every guy, simply stated, showed that their good enough to help us.”

Due to injuries, freshmen Jahmi’us Ramsey, Terrance Shannon, Kevin McCullar and several others enjoyed success in a game.

“With Jahmi’us and TJ, it was nice to see, in competition in the Bahamas, all the same things we’d seen in practice during the summer,” Beard said. “There was carry over.”

And the Red Raiders have plenty of returning talent, as well.

Moretti, a junior from Bologna, Italy, comes in following a year in which he averaged 11.5 points, 2.4 assists and 2.1 rebounds as Texas. During Big 12 action, Moretti shot 54 percent from the field, 54 percent from the three-point line and 93 percent from the free-throw line.

Edwards, a sophomore who netted 12 points in the national final against Virginia, and Benson will be tasked with setting the tone in practices.

Graduate transfers Chris Clarke (Virginia Tech) and T.J. Holyfield (Stephen F. Austin), who both did not play in the 2018-2019 season, have engrossed themselves in the day-to-day grind, which Beard fittingly calls “The Process.”

“The thing I’ve been most impressed with both of those guys is their buy in,” Beard said. “These are two very successful guys that have bodies of work in Division I basketball that nobody can dispute. And now they’re going to play their last year here.”

The question will remain, though, can the Red Raiders mesh a load of talent once again for a special run.

Preseason MVP: Davide Moretti
In his third season, Moretti will look to switch from the No. 2 to No. 1 scoring option, at times, thanks to his ability to make outside shots at a consistent rate and find the open man in the halfcourt.

Game of the Year: Texas Tech vs. Kentucky
The Red Raiders, who are 50-3 at home the last three years under Chris Beard, get a nice nonconference test in the Big 12/SEC Challenge in Lubbock.

Impact First-Year Player:
Jahmi’us Ramsey