On Wednesday, the Texas Tech basketball program made its second transfer portal addition in two days. After acquiring Drake transfer Kevin Overton on Tuesday, the Red Raiders have secured a verbal commitment from Pitt transfer big man Federico Federico.
He is a 6-foot-11, 225-pound forward from Finland. He has two years of eligibility left. He shared the news of his own resolution on his own Instagram account.
Last season, Federico averaged 4.7 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game. All of this was completed in an average of 21.3 minutes per outing.
Federico started 26 of the 33 games he played in. And given that he excels on defense, one of Texas Tech head coach Grant McCasland's top priorities, he could be a candidate to be the Red Raiders' starter.
His defensive rating last season was 100.5 (the estimated number of points a player allows per 100 possessions). On the other hand, he may not be very promising as an offensive force.
In his 68-game career, he averaged 5.7 points per game. This includes the 6.6 points he posted as a true freshman.
Most of his points come from dunks and putbacks, and he shoots 65.4% from the floor. However, he has never taken a 3-point shot in his career. He also shot just 53.4 percent from free throws over the past two seasons.
Adding size was a must for Texas Tech this offseason. With starting center Warren Washington running out of eligibility for the 2023-24 season, the Red Raiders do not have a player 6-foot-8 or taller to return next season.
However, just adding Federico is not enough. We saw how vulnerable Tech was last season when Washington missed a month with a foot injury and the roster didn't have the size to fill his hole.
Therefore, the Red Raiders need to add another big man this offseason. It would be better to add a player with more scoring ability to balance out the attack.
The Red Raiders still have a lot of work to do when building their roster for next season. McCasland could award up to six more scholarships after eight players left the program this offseason due to graduation or transfer.
However, the addition of Federico was an important step in building the team for the 2024-25 season. He brings a defensive tenacity that fans and the coaching staff like and helps give this team some much-needed size in the middle of the lane, which is invaluable in the college game.
