Jarrett Culver is set for the NBA Draft, which begins tonight at 6:00 p.m. and Culver is thought to be a top 10 pick and you may finally be able to collect on your bets as to who will be drafted higher, Culver or Josh Jung, with Jung being drafted 8th overall by the Texas Rangers.
Culver has been working out in Phoenix and discusses how he didn’t make the varsity team as a freshman and this fueled him moving forward to work hard and be better at the game that he loved.
Culver discusses what his game is about and players he emulates, including Kobe Bryant and Jamal Crawford, as well as Culver growing up in Lubbock and attending Texas Tech.
Culver talks with ESPN, including former NBA player Steve Smith, about the draft process.
A A-J Media’s Don Williams writes, Texas Tech head coach Chris Beard will be on hand in Brooklyn to watch Culver get drafted and Beard is excited to see Culver’s dreams come true:
Having experienced it once, Beard believes he’ll be calmer this time, “really be able to see it more.” His mind will drift back to the young Culver, how Beard called and offered the then-Coronado senior a scholarship the day Beard got hired and the dreams they discussed.
“Getting to see it materialize, it’s just crazy,” Beard said this week. “I think the story is him. I think our program did great for him. I’m really proud, and I think his family background’s a big part of it.
“But the bottom line is him. He’s the one that put in the work and he’s the one that turned himself into an NBA lottery pick. So I’ll just be proud of him, above all. A guy that knew what he wanted, worked hard to get it, stayed focused. It’s kind of a cool story.”
If NBA Draft profiles are your thing, I’ve got you covered.
- NBC Sports’ Rob Dauster has the best draft profile on Culver that I’ve read:
He has the size you want out of an off-guard and, at 6-foot-7 with a 6-foot-10 wingspan, is big enough to be able to guard small forwards in the NBA, but he doesn’t have the game of a typical 3-and-D player. As a sophomore, he averaged a team-high 3.7 assists for Texas Tech, but he wasn’t exactly what you would call a point guard. In fact, he was often essentially playing the four, with a trio of smaller guards on the floor around him. What Beard did was build an offense that was heavy with motion principles early in a possession, but as the shot clock wound down, the ball would end up in Culver’s hands, where he would be put into an isolation or a ball-screen action and allowed to create.
- NBA’s official site has their profile:
Jarrett Culver is an athletic two-way guard who helped anchor one of one of the best defenses in recent college basketball history while raising his game offensively to guide Texas Tech to a National Championship Game appearance. A largely unheralded prospect in the high school class of 2017 out of Coronado High School, Culver made an instant impact for the Red Raiders averaging 11.2 points and 4.8 rebounds per game playing a complimentary role under Chris Beard. The Lubbock native broke out in a major way this season averaging 18.5 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game shouldering a significant offensive burden to earn Big XII Player of the Year honors.
- NBADraft.net profiles Culver:
Strengths: After playing a supportive role at Texas Tech as a freshman, Jarrett Culver has quickly shot up draft boards as a sophomore by displaying a great all around floor game … At 6’6” Culver displays the size to play both the two and three spots at the next level, and with solid athletic ability and length … Offensively he’s paced the Red Raiders all season with 18.5 points per game (which is 25.3% of TTU’s offensive output) as well as acted as primary distributor and ball handler … Throw in his 3.6 assists per game, and he’s directly involved in over 35% of Texas Tech’s scoring plays … His all around offensive game makes him a multi-dimensional scorer as he has a fundamentally sound high arching shot in which he needs to be respected from beyond the arc, as well as being able to pull up from the mid-range … Culver’s footwork and hesitation moves on the perimeter are terrific as well, and will directly translate to the next level … He’s great at drawing his defenders off balance, and has a great array of moves once he gets in the lane … Jarrett also displays a high basketball IQ, and the ability to make a play when his team needs one the most … Playing in such a defensive oriented system in college, Culver has great defensive instincts, quick hands, and displays good effort … He’s an above average rebounder for a 6’6” guard (6.3 rebounds per game) and off a defensive miss or a steal, he’s a tough matchup in fast break situations due to his good passing ability … He projects as a plus defender in the NBA.
- Tankathon has a statistical based preview of Culver.
- FiveThirtyEight projects Culver to be the third best player.
- The Ringer has their NBA Draft preview, which includes Culver of course and have him going to the Pelicans.