Counting down the Texas Tech basketball program’s five greatest one-year transfers

In today’s world of college basketball with the transfer portal dominating player movement, the new mode of one-and-done players isn’t those who are headed to the NBA after just one year on campus but rather those who spend only one year with a program after transferring in from another school for their final season of eligibility. Texas Tech fans are certainly accustomed to that phenomenon.

After all, there have been quite a few transfers who have spent just one season in Lubbock before departing. The first of the modern era of the program was forward Anthony Livingston who put up 9.9 points and 3.7 rebounds per game in 2016-17 after following Chris Beard from Arkansas-Little Rock to Lubbock.

In 2017-18, big man Tommy Hamilton IV played his only season as a Red Raider. Redshirting the year before after transferring from DePaul (back in the era when players had to sit out when they transferred before graduating), he averaged 5.9 points and 2.7 rebounds for Tech as a reserve forward.

Another forward fans may remember is T.J. Holyfield. In 2019-20, the transfer from Stephen F. Austin put up 8.9 points and 4.5 rebounds per contest for the Red Raiders.

In 2021-22, Hampton transfer Davion Warren was a solid player for Tech. He averaged 9.4 points and 3.1 rebounds per game while making 33 starts at the guard spot.

However, none of those players find their way onto our countdown of the top five one-year transfers to have played for the Red Raiders. So let’s get into our list by looking at a player who brought more to the floor than just what his statistics suggest.

Some players bring more to the court that just what the statistics can measure. That was the case with former Red Raider wing Adonis Arms. A transfer to Tech from Winthrop in 2021-22, he was a critical component of a team that reached the Sweet 16.

Starting 25 of 37 games that year, Arms averaged 8.6 points and 4.4 rebounds. A versatile player, he had 17 double-digit scoring games that season including posting 15 points against Montana State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

However, the athletic wing was more than just an offensive presence. In fact, his best attribute may have been his defense.

In his one season as a Red Raider, he posted a defensive rating (an estimate of how many points a player surrenders per 100 possessions) of 90.7. Considering that a rating of 100.0 is considered average, Arms’ defensive rating was sterling.

Arms played only two years of Division-I college hoops after starting his career at the JUCO level. In his lone season at Tech, he proved to be just the type of player both on and off the court that the Red Raiders wanted to build their program around so it is a shame that he didn’t have more time to spend at Tech.