Texas Tech Basketball: NBA Draft profile on wing initiator Jarrett Culver

Strengths: Playmaking, Defense, IQ

Jarrett Culver’s prominence as a powerful two-way force for Texas Tech was just a wonderful sight to see for lovers of good basketball, with the unheralded Lubbock, Texas product rising from three-star recruit to future NBA draftee due to a desirable mix of respectable character, persistent work ethic, innate basketball intellect, advanced skill, and functional strength all within a great 6-foot-6.75, 194-pound frame with a solid 6-foot-9.5 wingspan.

After posting averages of 11.2 points (.455/.382/.648), 4.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists 1.5 turnovers), 1.1 steals and 0.7 blocks as a freshman with a complementary role, the 20-year-old sophomore accepted stardom with ease, boosting his averages to 18.5 points (.461/.304/.707), 6.4 rebounds, 3.7 assists (2.7 turnovers), 1.5 steals and 0.6 blocks per game. A meteoric rise in usage rate (22.1 to 32.2) was handled fairly well, with the wing’s assist rate doubling (13.7 to 26.1) while his turnover rate stated basically the same (13.3 to 13.7).

Culver is uniquely strong for his position, with tree trunk legs that allow him to leverage himself against defenders on drives and post-ups in traffic. He’s not an explosive leaper, nor is he an athlete known for top-tier speed or burst, but he’s agile and evasive, a real smoother operator when it comes to finagling himself through defenders.

His lower-body strength also aids what is already a near-elite defensive acumen, as he slides well against ball-handlers, capable of cutting of driving lanes and isolation attempts with dogged determination whilst having the strength to make life difficult for some larger wings and smaller bigs, too. Given his larger frame (he was only 6-foot-5 last season, growing two inches in the past year) and broad shoulders, he should be able to bulk up with NBA weight training, which would make his functional strength even more impactful on the court to a significant degree.

Playing for a defensive ace in Chris Beard has instilled advanced defensive fundamentals, with Culver’s technical, mental, and physical approach to defense being absolutely superb. He was the best defender, both on and off the ball, for the nation’s most stingiest of defenses, making players of all shapes and sizes uncomfortable with his constant pressure and great hands (2.7 STL%).

He’s astute off the ball as well, with timely rotations and deft recognition, serving as a communicative leader on that end and routinely blowing up plays. Dribble near him and he’ll strip you or force you to pick it up; shoot it near him and he’ll body you up and push you off balance with his strong legs; try to needle a pass past him and he’ll intercept it. Going up against him on the defensive end spells trouble, and although he’s not perfect — given his massive offense usage, some plays showcased less passion and intensity that the coach would like to see — but he’s nonetheless excellent, with the potential to square up against as many as four positions in the NBA without giving up an inch.

Back to the offense: Jarrett Culver is a great finisher at the basket, both as a cutter and driver, using his solid dribble, silky movement skills and functional strength to meander through defensive schemes and around defenders both active and stationary, often ending these drives/cuts with a soft finish. He managed to get to the rim on 40.2 percent (!) of his possessions in the halfcourt, hitting 56.1 percent of his halfcourt non-post close attempts, ranking in the 66th percentile of all college players per Synergy.

Overall, he hit 67.1 percent of his shot attempts at the rim (halfcourt plus transition), with only 23.8 percent of the makes being assisted on according to hoop-math. He’s not overly quick, but he sure as hell knows how to beat you and get to the bucket where he can finish with touch and craft, whether he has to go around a defender or through one, taking contact and adjusting accordingly.

Ball-handling is an area of relative strength, with some deceptive herky-jerky moves and fakes in his bag, using his advanced feel and coordination to gain advantageous angles on his defenders, even elite ones:

His efficiency as the Red Raider’s primary offensive creator was impressive, given the elevated degree of difficulty of his shots and the constant pressure he dealt with as teams schemed for him and essentially only him (sorry, Davide Moretti and Matt Mooney).

Jarrett Culver is also the best wing passer in the draft, even better than Duke’s RJ Barrett, who’s projected to go ahead of him on draft night. His feel for the game, recognition of offensive patterns and the defense’s counters, unique floor vision, ability to manipulate defenses with eye-fakes to free up his teammates, ability to draw crowds with his threat as a scorer, passing touch/craft and ability to fling passes of high-difficulty on the move and in traffic is just exceptional. He won’t be on-ball full-time in the NBA, but he’ll be such a great secondary playmaker/initiator who can spend more time exerting energy on defense (and, the lesser the offensive load, the more energy he has to racket up his defensive effort).

Wraparounds, post entries, hit-aheads, pocket passes, corner skips, lobs, overhead tosses — name a pass and he can hit it and hit it with great accuracy. Some of the finds he makes as a facilitator are simply just nuts, as he blends good decision-making with a fair share of adventurous, ambitious passes that he somehow fits into some pretty tight angles.

He’s a talented, well-rounded player whose presence is felt on both sides of the ball. Jack-of-all-trades prospects do present a fair share of downside if they don’t offer any exceptional skills (shout out Evan Turner!), but given Jarrett Culver’s IQ, finishing, defense, and passing, he has plenty of top-shelf skills that should help him stick. And if his shooting continues to improve, then he could be truly, truly special in the NBA.