Culver is quickly becoming one of the more interesting prospects in this entire class. He may well be the best wing defender in the 2019 class, which makes sense considering his size and that he is older than most of his counterparts. His hips and lower body move with the strength and looseness of an NBA stopper already, but his steal numbers aren’t quite at the level. That could be a result of Texas Tech’s all-around stellar defense — Culver drives the bus but doesn’t always rack up the statistics of other stellar college defenders. Or it could be that Culver is never going to be the type of player who jumps out in steal and block accumulation.
Watching Culver’s career-high 31-point outburst against Iowa State over the weekend, we came away even more enthralled by the sophomore’s development offensively. His transition from stationary 3-and-D role player to lead playmaker is one of the most fascinating in college basketball and definitely in this draft class. While the results were certainly there Saturday night, Culver still flashed some of the concerns about his ability to be a top option on offense at the NBA level. He has a loose handle, losing the ball often on simple dribble moves, even when the defense is not pressuring him. And while he can finish capably with either hand at the rim, Culver lacks the explosive first step to blow by his defender on the perimeter and create those shots inside.
The jump shot remains Culver’s swing skill. He shot just 25 percent from deep during conference play but finished strong, shooting 5-14 in March.
However, multiple times later in the game, pull-up jumpers inside the arc flopped around like fish out of water. It’s not pretty — yet. At the NBA level, it’s more likely Culver will become a two-dribbles-and-a-good-decision type of player — the smart secondary playmaking coaches want out of the other guys on the court next to dominant scorers. He just doesn’t have the shot creation ability to be that player at the NBA level, but a lesser role would ideally allow him to maintain consistent defensive impact and do what he’s good at off the ball on offense.
