Texas Tech basketball: What we learned from loss to No. 2 Duke
Jarrett Culver is almost certain to be a top-15 NBA Draft pick
No player on the court last night did more to help his future than Jarrett Culver. Leading all scorers with 25 points, the sophomore from Coronado High School opened eyes around the nation and elevated his status as one of the top draft prospects in the nation.
"“Culver is the real deal,” Krzyzewski said. “We played our butts off trying to stop him. We went up and he scored about five straight points that was like a key moment: like, could we come back because this kid just put them on his back. Really good player.”"
Entering the game, the focus of the national media was on Duke’s superstar freshman trio, especially Zion Williamson (who also put on a show with 17 points and 13 rebounds despite fouling out with over 3 minutes to play). But playing against a team featuring three potential top-5 NBA picks, Culver was the best player on the court.
And observers on the national stage took notice. Publications like Dime Magazine and 247Sports are lauding Culver and now proclaiming him to be a lottery pick.
Thus far, Tech’s hometown hero is averaging 19.6 points per game, third-most in the Big 12. He trails Iowa State’s Marial Shayok by only two tenths of a point and is one of the front-runners for conference player of the year.
Prior to this season, we talked about the likelihood that this would be Culver’s last year as a Red Raider and after last night, that seems more certain than ever. And though losing one of the most talented players in program history would hurt, producing a first round pick in back-to-back seasons would be quite the selling point for Chris Beard on the recruiting trail.
It is hard to believe that former Red Raider head coach Tubby Smith was not recruiting Culver prior to leaving Texas Tech for Memphis in 2016. But Beard made Culver a priority and has developed him into a potential NBA lottery pick.
Basketball scouts have long known about Culver as a prospect but last night, we learned that he is as good as any player in the nation. Though the ESPN broadcast was focused on Duke’s stars, Jarrett Culver stole the show and proved to be a potential top-10 pick making himself millions of dollars by showing out in the most high-profile game of the season.