Recruiting Profile: Isiah Small

Coming off of a successful career at Texas State, Isaiah Smalls is in the transfer portal and looking for a new school. Texas Tech has offered Smalls and is looking for him to come in and make an immediate impact. Here’s a full profile on Isiah Small:

Physicals:

Small is a 6’8″ forward that only weighs 170 pounds. He’s a good athlete but isn’t big enough to bully anyone around on the interior of the paint. He gets rebounds by out-jumping everyone and by getting a good position in the paint. He runs the floor like a guard as his build is more guard-like.

Offense:

One of the most interesting players left in the portal when it comes to offensive ability. Small played most of last season near the basket but has the ability to shoot the long ball as well. He averaged 11 points per game last season on 54% shooting from the field. He also was able to stretch the floor as he shot 42% from behind the arc on almost three attempts per game.

Texas State used him more as a post than anything else this past season but Small is most definitely a forward and not a center. He’s really good in pick-and-pop situations and trailing on a secondary fast-break. Envision Small playing alongside Marcus Santos-Silva more than Bryson Williams.

Defense:

Small has a long frame that allows him to guard most bigs while his athleticism allows him to guard almost anyone on the court. Crafty guards that have elite speed will give him issues but can guard most College-Level Athletes. He is also great in help-defense situations. Multiple times his film shows him chasing down fast breaks or helping from the weak side of the defense to help contest a shot.

Role At Texas Tech:

Small is an interesting player to project a role here. I believe based on his playstyle and the fact that he is a forward and not a center similar to Santos-Silva, I think he’ll be a sixth-man type player off the bench for the Red Raiders. He’ll most likely average 20-25 minutes a night if he chooses Texas Tech.

Coming off the bench to spark some offense or even change the look of the defense is a crucial role for anyone on this team.

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