Getty Jarrett Culver of the Texas Tech Red Raiders celebrates after a play during the Sweet 16.
The star and leading scorer for the Texas Tech Red Raiders, Jarrett Culver has enjoyed tremendous success in his sophomore campaign and looks poised to be a top 10 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. With fantastic size (6’6″) and plus athleticism at the two guard position, Culver has a crafty offensive game and uses his natural gifts well when attacking the basket.
Beyond just being adept at attacking the basket, Culver is a scorer from all three levels of the court. While his three-point percentage is lacking a bit, that is mainly due to the fact that he is an extremely confident shooter on a team without many scoring options and often gets stuck with the ball as the shot clock is ticking down, resulting in tons of contested threes. That issue shouldn’t be as prevalent in the NBA where he should have plenty of scoring help.
Jarrett Culver NBA Draft Profile: Latest Mocks & Projections
Jarrett Culver’s incredibly strong sophomore season have caught the attention of NBA executives and Analysts alike. Especially in both the conference and NCAA tournaments, Culver has been exceptional.
Most mock drafts have him going at the very top of the first round. Our own mock draft by Jonathan Adams has Culver pegged as the 7th overall pick to the Hawks. NBAdraft.net has him going 11th to the Orlando Magic, while ESPN also has Culver going off the board even at 7th to the Atlanta Hawks.
Beyond his promising upside as a scorer, Culver has the skills and size to be an elite defender at the position as well. While he shows mental lapses from time to time on that end of the ball now, those mistakes are coachable and he has shown to be an extremely effective communicator within Texas Tech’s elite team defense this season.
Jarrett Culver NBA Player Comparison
Jarrett Culver plays a lot like Will Barton of the Denver Nuggets, except that Culver is a far superior offensive talent with a MUCH higher ceiling than Barton. That being said, they do have quite a few similarities in that both are nominally shooting guards but can effectively slide and cover anyone on the perimeter from 1-3. More than defensively, both Culver and Barton find ways to contribute away from the scoring column and are great rebounders along with willing passers.
The fact that Culver is an elite scorer from all three levels is the main differentiating factor between the two. Although Barton gets his buckets, most of them come on plays where star big man Nikola Jokic collapses a defense and finds Barton either open from three or slashing to the rim. Compare that to Culver who has shown an ability to create space and make shots for himself.
Despite Barton’s production at the NBA level, he wasn’t the highest ranked prospect coming into the league and fell to a second-round pick in 2012. Having safely far outplayed his draft position, Barton looks to be a quality contributor on offense and defense in the NBA for years to come. Look for something similar from Culver, except that he should be much better at scoring the basketball and has the potential to develop into an All-Star one day.