Should OKC Thunder try to move up to nab the intriguing Jarrett Culver?
By Noah Schulte
Jarrett Culver had a fantastic season at Texas Tech. But how will his game translate to the NBA? And should the OKC Thunder look to move up to get him?
Jarrett Culver’s journey from an intriguing freshman on the bench of a loaded Texas Tech program last season to the first option on an NCAA title team just a year later was nothing if not surprising.
After losing eventual Philadelphia 76er, Zhaire Smith, and key players like Justin Gray last season, Texas Tech got only six votes in the Preseason AP poll, which sounds like a lot until you remember that the team with the highest count to not make the poll received 162.
They were probably going to make the tournament, sure, but this was probably going to be a down year relative to the season they had before.
Like his program, Culver didn’t appear to be anything special prior to the season; most mock drafts had him in the mid-20s and some left him out of the first round entirely. He had some interesting tools and flashed some promise in his freshman year, but there was no way he’d be able to compete with what seemed to be a top-heavy freshman class.
When the season started, though, Culver came out firing, averaging 19.1 points, 5.7 boards, and 4.5 assists per game to help Tech win their first ten games of the year. And as the school rose through the ranks, so did Culver’s draft stock.
After such a fantastic year, Culver’s solidified himself as a surefire lottery pick, albeit in a weak draft. But there are still real questions about how his game will translate. Here’s what they are.
Specifics:
- Height: 6’6.75”
- Weight: 194
- Wingspan: 6’9.5′
- Position: Guard
- Age: 20.2
- College: Texas Tech
- Stat line: 18.5 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.4 steals, and 0.6 blocks
- Home Town: Lubbock, Texas
| Season | G | MP | FGA | FG% | 2PA | 2P% | 3PA | 3P% | FTA | FT% | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-18 | 37 | 26.4 | 8.6 | .455 | 4.7 | .514 | 3.9 | .382 | 2.9 | .648 | 4.8 | 1.8 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 1.5 | 11.2 |
| 2018-19 | 38 | 32.5 | 14.5 | .461 | 10.3 | .526 | 4.2 | .304 | 5.5 | .707 | 6.4 | 3.7 | 1.5 | 0.6 | 2.7 | 18.5 |
| Career | 75 | 29.5 | 11.6 | .459 | 7.5 | .522 | 4.1 | .341 | 4.2 | .687 | 5.6 | 2.8 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 2.1 | 14.9 |
Provided by CBB at Sports Reference: View Original Table
Generated 5/25/2019.