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Texas Tech basketball: The top 25 Red Raiders in the Big 12 era

By Matthew Conner

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 08: Jarrett Culver #23 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders celebrates the play against the Virginia Cavaliers in the second half during the 2019 NCAA men's Final Four National Championship game at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 08, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 08: Jarrett Culver #23 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders celebrates the play against the Virginia Cavaliers in the second half during the 2019 NCAA men's Final Four National Championship game at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 08, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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Apr 6, 2019; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders guard Jarrett Culver (23) celebrates after defeating the Michigan State Spartans in the semifinals of the 2019 men’s Final Four at US Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 6, 2019; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders guard Jarrett Culver (23) celebrates after defeating the Michigan State Spartans in the semifinals of the 2019 men’s Final Four at US Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports /

No. 2: Culver

Lubbock native Jarrett Culver was not only the best small forward of the last decade, but he might also be the best player in Texas Tech history regardless of position.  After all, he’s the only Big 12 Player of the Year the program has ever had and was the leading scorer on the first Red Raider Final Four team.

As a sophomore, he averaged 18.5 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game, all of which lead the team. That came on the heels of an impressive true freshman year when he scored 11.2 points and hauled in 4.8 rebounds per contest.

At nearly 6-foot-7, Culver was a lanky player who could guard four positions on the court and that made him invaluable to Chris Beard.  Though he wasn’t as dynamic of an athlete as either of those two players, he was the better basketball player as he was far more polished.

As a sophomore, Culver was also asked to do more than any player in the last decade.  Playing a year after losing six of the team’s top eight scorers, including Keenan Evans, Culver was also the glue that held his team together.

Without Evans, he was a pseudo point guard who handled most of his team’s ball-handling chores. He also had to defend the opposition’s most dynamic wing player, something he was rather adept at doing given that he had a large wingspan for a player of his height.

A consensus All-American, Culver led his team to the program’s first-ever Big 12 title by scoring a career-high 31 points in the regular-season finale, a win at Iowa State to clinch a share of the conference crown.  Sitting at No. 27 on Tech’s all-time scoring list, he is the only Red Raider to surpass the 1,000-point mark in his first two years on campus.

There’s something satisfying and inspiring about the fact that it was a Lubbock native that led the team to the national title game and who is likely the best player in program history.  And to think, he wasn’t being recruited by Tubby Smith when he was a prospect.  Thank God Chris Beard came to town and made his first phone call after being introduced as head coach to Culver.  By doing so, he helped land a player who would take the program to never-before-seen heights and he did it just across town from where he grew up.

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