Avery Benson endeared himself to the Texas Tech faithful by working hard and being the underdog. He first splashed onto the season as a freshman walk-on in a black cowboy hat on Texas Tech's first run to the Elite 8. Then, he worked his way onto the floor for a few minutes a game on the run to the National Championship game.

After playing in 20 games as a sophomore, Benson got into 31 games and played nearly 10 minutes a game as a junior. None bigger than dropping 10 points and getting a massive block against top-ranked Louisville in Madison Square Garden. As a senior, Benson played sparingly again, seeing action in 20 games with less than six minutes per contest.

Benson didn't shoot much as a Red Raider but excelled at bodying wide-open threes, shooting 42 percent from beyond the arc in his career. His time as a Red Raider will always be remembered, but instead of adding to his Texas Tech legacy under Mark Adams, Doc Benson will enter the transfer portal.

"I would like to take a moment to thanks the coaching staff, TTU, and all of West Texas for the love and support shown these past four years," Benson wrote in a note posted to his Twitter account on Thursday. "It has truly been an honor and an incredible ride. As I explore the options for the next chapter of my life I can look back and honestly say I gave it my all."

Benson walked on at Texas Tech after being originally offered a scholarship at Arkansas Little Rock by Chris Beard. The scrappy guard eventually earned a scholarship at Texas Tech and can leave knowing he did everything he could for the university.

My hope is that Benson drops to D2 and dominates for a season before moving onto a successful life of hunting and fishing. Maybe he'll join fellow former Red Raider and LSC player of the year Parker Hicks at Texas Tech and throw down some alley-oops in a loving Christian manner at LCU.

Either way, best of luck to Avery Benson as he enters that ever-mysterious transfer portal.

Staying behind at Texas Tech are now 11 capable players and two open spots for transfers into the program. The roster is guard-heavy, to say the least, so expect two big men to round out the 2021-22 Red Raiders roster. Barring any game-changing developments, the Red Raiders will return four-player and will add at least nine new players to the roster.

Here's where the group stands right now.

Meet Your 2021-22 Texas Tech Red Raiders Basketball Team, So Far.

The roster isn't done yet, but here's where Mark Adams and the gang are right now.

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