CBS analyst thinks Texas Tech has the No. 1 player in college basketball
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The Texas Tech Red Raiders got a huge boost when it was announced that forward JT Toppin was returning for his junior season. Toppin, who was named Big 12 Player of the Year in 2024-25, led the Red Raiders in scoring (18.2 ppg), rebounding (9.4 rpg), and blocks (1.5 bpg) last season.
While there's no question that Toppin is one of the top players in all of college basketball, is he worthy of being No. 1? According to CBS Sports analyst Gary Parrish, absolutely.
In a recent college basketball starting five fantasy draft, Parrish selected Toppin with the No. 1 overall pick.
Who picked a better squad? @MattNorlander or @GaryParrishCBS? @EyeOnCBBPodcast pic.twitter.com/7O7xx968Kx
— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) May 9, 2025
During his freshman season at New Mexico, Toppin accounted for 12.4 ppg with the Lobos and was named 2023-24 Mountain West Freshman of the Year. He became the first freshman in New Mexico history to have consecutive double-doubles, and his field goal percentage of .623 ranks in the top 20 all-time by a freshman in NCAA DI history.
After that stellar freshman campaign, Toppin transferred back to his home state of Texas and joined the Red Raiders. His incredible production continued in Lubbock, and he quickly established himself as the top player in the Big 12 conference.
Heading into the 2025-26 campaign, it's clear that Toppin will play a massive role in whether or not Texas Tech can build on its Elite 8 run from last season. If he can make even a slight improvement from what he produced last year, it's a safe bet that the Red Raiders are in for another successful campaign.
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Christopher Breiler launched Winged Helmet Media and began covering the Michigan Football program in an unofficial capacity in 2017. He then joined Wolverine Digest as part of the FanNation network in 2021 as a contributing writer, where he served as both a writer and a photographer on game days. In 2024, he took over as the Managing Editor for Michigan Wolverines On SI. In January of 2025, he took over as Publisher for Maryland On SI. His love for Michigan Football brought him into the industry, and his passion for being a content creator has led to some amazing experiences along the way.
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