Is Jarrett Culver the best Shooting Guard in the country?

The NCAA is full of talented players especially at the Shooting Guard position, according to many NBA mock drafts there could be as high as 9 Shooting Guards going in the first round alone. Many of the headliners at that position are Cam Reddish from Duke, Keldon Johnson from Kentucky, Kevin Porter from USC, and even Romeo Langford from Indiana along with Carsen Edwards from Purdue. Well there is another Shooting Guard from Lubbock Texas that showed the country what he could do on the national stage with a 25-point performance at Madison Square Garden against the Duke Blue Devils and that is Jarrett Culver. Culver is the best Shooting Guards in the country in my opinion although he doesn’t get the recognition, he deserves. “Culver is the real deal and we played our butts off to try and stop him” said Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski. 

In 12 games this season he is averaging 19.6 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 4.3 APG while shooting 45.2 percent from three and 56.3 percent from the field. The Texas Tech star currently averages more points, rebounds, and assists than all these talented future draftees except Edwards in points (25.8), but what separates him the most is his defense. This season so far Culver is 6^th in the country in Defensive Rating at 78.7, 9^th in Defensive Win Shares at 1.3. 

Culver is a great two-way player and has a very smooth offensive game that reminds me of OKC star Paul George or Brooklyn Net guard Caris LeVert. Culver like George/LeVert are very good athletes that can take you off the dribble while creating for others. Not to mention they can create their own shots with incredible consistency and efficiency. Culver is 1^st in the country in Player Efficiency Rating at 32.0, 1^st in Offensive Box Plus/Minus at 10.4, 3^rd  in Effective Field Goal Percentage at .626, 3^rd in True Shooting at .644 and 4^th in Offensive Rating at 128.7.  

 Another thing that separates him from other shooting guards in class is his arsenal as a scorer. The 6’7 190-pound guard is a matchup nightmare due to the fact that he can score on all the 3 levels effectively, and can play a combo guard role if need be. He also will guard your best player defensively and frustrate him night in and night out. Opposing team’s all season have tried to find ways to slow him down and none have come close.  “He’s legit, he’s an NBA player and is one of the best players in college basketball” Head Coach Chris Beard said. 

Culver is the best Shooting Guard in the country and when it is all said and done, he will be a finalist for the Jerry West Award, be selected to the 1^st team All-Big 12 team and carry the Red Raiders to another tournament appearance. The sky is the limit for the 19-year-old phenom. It will be interesting to see what the Red Raiders do in the Big 12 play and how he continues to put up Naismith Player of the Year numbers.