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Jamaaliver wrote:I absolutely love this signing. Low risk, high reward deal. He's a really humble, good kid who should really get along great with Hunter and AJ Griffin.

Jamaaliver wrote:A nice write-up on Culver.

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Jarrett Culver is the second member of Chris Beard’s first real recruiting class at Texas Tech to go from totally under-the-radar to a guaranteed first round pick. He didn’t just become a better scorer and a talented wing prospect, he became their point guard.

And that is where the intrigue lies for Culver when it comes to his potential at the next level.

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.

That is what he does best.

Shot creation.

Spoiler:

Culver is excellent in triple-threat situations. His ability to shoot off the dribble consistently improved throughout his college career, and he’s generally at his best when he is allowed to get into a rhythm jumper off the bounce. He needs to quicken up his release in the NBA, but he has some wiggle room given the way that he gets his shot off. He’s not the most explosive athlete, but he can dunk on defenders when he gets a lane to the basket and his long strides and improving frame allowed him to be able to get to where he wanted to get to in the lane despite the fact that his first step is not all that quick.

But where Culver improved the most during the offseason was with his ability to operate ball-screens. He obsessively studied tape during the summer to learn the proper reads and proper passes to make when running a ball-screen, and the improvement showed. He forced teams to have to stop going under the screen against him because of his ability to step-back and make off-the-dribble threes. He can throw one-handed, live-dribble passes to shooters in either corner. He turned Tariq Owens into a serious threat on the offensive end of the floor with his ability to hit him on lobs while also knowing how to create the space and passing lane for a dump-off.

He’s grown into being a high-level, well-rounded offensive weapon, and there is quite a bit of value in a player that can be a secondary shot-creator without having to play as a point or off-guard.

Now, there are some limitations as well.

He’s better as an off-the-dribble shooter, which actually is not exactly ideal for a player that is going to be spending quite a few possessions playing off the ball. He’s added some muscle since last season — and a growth spurt in the last year makes it seem possible that his body is not done developing — but he is still pretty slender and is not great at dealing with physicality on either end of the floor.

Culver, Reddish top list of shooting guards in NBA draft

Jarrett Culver made himself a top-flight NBA prospect by pushing Texas Tech to within a win of its first national championship.

Culver is regarded by many as the top shooting guard in Thursday’s draft, part of a rapid rise from solid freshman contributor to Associated Press All-American. He could be picked in the top five

The sophomore can make a big impact at both ends on the court.

STRENGTHS: Culver offers size (a nearly 6-foot-7 measurement with shoes at the scouting combine) and the versatility to defend multiple positions for one of the nation’s toughest defensive units. After averaging 11.2 points as a freshman, Culver developed into the no-doubt first option and Big 12 player of the year while leading Texas Tech in scoring (18.5), rebounding (6.4) and assists (3.7).

CONCERNS: Culver must improve his outside shooting after making 49 of 161 (.304) 3-pointers in his first run in a leading role. That was down nearly 8 percentage points from his freshman year and included a 4-for-26 showing (.154) in the last five games of the team’s run to the NCAA title game. He must also improve at the line after shooting 68.7% there over two college seasons.

NBA Draft: Jarrett Culver is the best prospect that no now knows

Taking a closer look at Jarrett Culver, who just might be the best NBA Draft prospect that no one knows about

there’s one name that really isn’t mainstream that should be. None other than the heart and soul of the Texas Tech Red Raiders, Jarrett Culver. He has helped lead the Red Raiders to the Sweet Sixteen, and they could just be getting started...as he continues to impress into the Tournament, there’s a chance that he could play himself into being a top 5 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.

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Culver is currently ranked as the No. 6 overall draft prospect and the second-best shooting guard in this draft class. And his stats back that up. The big question, of course, is whether or not he could rise high enough to upend one of the three Duke trio or Ja Morant, who quickly climbed up to the No. 2 spot after a tremendous season with Murray State.

In his sophomore season with the Red Raiders, Culver is averaging 19 points, seven rebounds and four assists on 48 percent shooting from the field and 38 percent from 3-point range.

Through two games in the NCAA Tournament, Culver is averaging 23 points, nine rebounds and six assists on 47 percent shooting from the field and 44 percent from 3-point range. Should he continue to impress his all-around game, there’s no question that he will continue to rise up draft boards.

At 6-foot-5, Culver will have the ability to guard multiple positions at the next level, and play either guard position if he can improve his on-ball skills. He’s an interesting prospect that has all the ability in the world to make the jump into a really good pro.

jayu70 wrote:Interesting tidbit:
The 23-year-old guard inked a two-way deal, the Hawks announced Monday. He joins a team that's expected to be in the middle of the Eastern Conference alongside the Raptors vying to avoid the play-in tournament next season.

At one point this summer it seemed as though Culver was destined to join the Raptors. He was seen wearing Raptors attire at the Rico Hines runs, playing alongside most of Toronto's players. Scottie Barnes even hinted that Culver was set to sign in Toronto while streaming on Twitch.

graymule wrote::D

Some players are great "right now." Everything comes easy for them. Others must have time. Jarrett Culver has not developed as fast as he and everyone hoped. He hasn't given up. Perhaps this is the time that everything falls into place for him. Sure, this is a gamble. It's one that I'm happy that Atlanta is taking. If it doesn't work out, so what. No big deal. But, if it works out great - WOW!

player preview: Jarrett Culver



The Atlanta Hawks signed Jarrett Culver to a Two-Way contract in mid-September effectively dropping him into the roster spot previously held by Chaundee Brown Jr. The fourth-year wing will provide a modest amount of experience as Atlanta looks to operate with reduced depth at the shooting guard and small forward positions as compared to previous seasons.

Culver entered the league vying with the likes of De’Andre Hunter and Cam Reddish for consideration as the top wing on 2019 NBA draft boards. By all reports, teams seemed intrigued by the emerging set of ball handling and shot creation skills he displayed during his final NCAA season at Texas Tech. In combination with defensive prowess, he climbed mock drafts as the pre-draft season progressed. The offensive abilities never translated at the NBA level, at least not yet. Culver is still just 23 years old. But he’s a former No. 6 overall pick landing on a two-way deal while a number of his draft classmates are getting rich extensions.

Even at his best in NCAA play, Culver was always a bit methodical and deliberate as a creator and decision maker. As can sometimes be the case, the pace and rhythm worked well in an offensive system built around lineups that featured defense-first players. He was productive enough at the collegiate level to generate conversation about the possibility of him functioning as a point guard at the NBA level.

But landing in a secondary offensive role in an NBA system that sometimes asks wings to really simplify their offensive work (true of many teams) seems to have stymied his offensive development.