Jarrett Culver

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Lip, seriously, this one photo now has you changing your mind about this kid!? C'mon man!

There is absolutely nothing in his game that indicates his vertical is applied as a competitve advantage. It's one thing to do it in a combine test. It's another to actually rise over people in traffic for dunks, get chase down blocks, etc.

I'm neutral on the pick. He definitely has some skills and intelligence to his game, but also has a slow release, slow first step (unlike a young and healthy Brandon Roy by the way), and iffy free thrower and jump shooter.

[Monster]

One article I read about Culver suggested the Lakers give prospects more of a runway for their vertical leap. I can't find anything to substantiate that claim (I think that article was more of a well informed fan blogger). It's worth remembering that Lavine's 46 inch vertical was there after posting a 41.5 inch vertical at the combine. We don't have combine numbers for Culver. We all know LaVine is a freak athlete but a difference of over 4 inches is quite a lot. Regardless Culver looks like he can get up which is good to see. I'm interested in looking more into his lower body because World pointed it out as well as another piece I read last night.

[worldK]

Lip, seriously, this one photo now has you changing your mind about this kid!? C'mon man.

Q, were talking about lip here!:) I firmly believe that if culver measured out with 6'11 wingspan and 8'10 overhead reach, lip would not have been as negative in his initial reaction. He might even been in the culver/rosas camp from the get go;)

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Lip, seriously, this one photo now has you changing your mind about this kid!? C'mon man.

Q, were talking about lip here!:) I firmly believe that if culver measured out with 6'11 wingspan and 8'10 overhead reach, lip would not have been as negative in his initial reaction. He might even been in the culver/rosas camp from the get go;)

Heh, no doubt. Lip is a gem though, so nothing personal. It's just funny as hell to watch how his positions evolve and how he kind of ties himself up in knots rationalizing them! His earlier siloloquy on Culver's vertical which then led to a Brandon Roy comp is classic Lip!

[Monster]

Just for fun here some pics of Jimmy Butler playing for Marquette.

The first is in March of 2010 when he would have been 20 years old.

https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/jimmy-butler-of-the-marquette-golden-eagles-looks-on-during-news-photo/98021076

Here is one from November 2010 soon after he turned 21.

https://www.alamy.com/nov-20-2010-milwaukee-wisconsin-united-states-of-america-marquette-image63292561.html

You can look up some pics of Culver to compare if you want. There is no guarantee Culver is gonna be anything like the strong guy Butler ended up as but the difference at a similar age doesn't seem to be vast.

[worldK]

Lip, seriously, this one photo now has you changing your mind about this kid!? C'mon man.

Q, were talking about lip here!:) I firmly believe that if culver measured out with 6'11 wingspan and 8'10 overhead reach, lip would not have been as negative in his initial reaction. He might even been in the culver/rosas camp from the get go;)

Heh, no doubt. Lip is a gem though, so nothing personal. It's just funny as hell to watch how his positions evolve and how he kind of ties himself up in knots rationalizing them! His earlier siloloquy on Culver's vertical which then led to a Brandon Roy comp is classic Lip!

No doubt lip is one of the best posters here. He just have his quirks like all of us, his happens to be the length of your arms. I bet he will take every opportunity to remind us of 'culver and his 8'4.5 overhead reach in culver's timberwolves career going forward. :)

[Lipoli390]

Lip, seriously, this one photo now has you changing your mind about this kid!? C'mon man.

Q, were talking about lip here!:) I firmly believe that if culver measured out with 6'11 wingspan and 8'10 overhead reach, lip would not have been as negative in his initial reaction. He might even been in the culver/rosas camp from the get go;)

Heh, no doubt. Lip is a gem though, so nothing personal. It's just funny as hell to watch how his positions evolve and how he kind of ties himself up in knots rationalizing them! His earlier siloloquy on Culver's vertical which then led to a Brandon Roy comp is classic Lip!

No doubt lip is one of the best posters here. He just have his quirks like all of us, his happens to be the length of your arms. I bet he will take every opportunity to remind us of 'culver and his 8'4.5 overhead reach in culver's timberwolves career going forward. :)

You are absolutely right, World. When Culver falters, as I still think he will, I will take every opportunity to remind everyone of his 8'4.5 overhead reach. And just to give you a preview, I will then conclude that overhead reach is far more important than vertical leap. :)

[Lipoli390]

Lip, seriously, this one photo now has you changing your mind about this kid!? C'mon man!

There is absolutely nothing in his game that indicates his vertical is applied as a competitve advantage. It's one thing to do it in a combine test. It's another to actually rise over people in traffic for dunks, get chase down blocks, etc.

I'm neutral on the pick. He definitely has some skills and intelligence to his game, but also has a slow release, slow first step (unlike a young and healthy Brandon Roy by the way), and iffy free thrower and jump shooter.

Q - Read my posts a little more closely. You'll see I have NOT changed my mind about Culver. What you will see is that finding out about his elite vertical has caused me to begin rethinking my view of him. I acknowledged that I've never seen any vertical explosiveness in all the videos of him I've seen. And of course the Brandon Roy comparison is a huge stretch. In fact, my soliloquy noted that I wasn't proclaiming Culver the next Brandon Roy and that I still have serious doubts about Culver. All I'm doing is taking a second look at the pick based on new information and speculating on how Culver might turn out to be a lot better than you and I think he's likely to be. The Culver comparison to Brandon Roy is based on some factual commonalities between them. Obviously that comparison is highly aspirational. I'm not delusional - I mean on this topic. :)

I know your comment was all in good fun and I'm not offended at all, but one of the problems on this Board is that views are often too rigid with individual posters becoming incredulous when they read any post that doesn't line up completely with one side or the other. I consider it more fun and interesting to at least challenge my own thinking and possibly evolve my thinking over time based on what I learn. And obviously, as a Wolves fan, I want the Culver pick to succeed. So stay tuned for more positive Culver posts from me -- until I see him perform on the court in ways that confirm my initial misgivings. :) And let me be clear again, I still don't like the Culver pick. I think Rosas screwed up by giving up a valuable asset to get a player he wanted without assurance he'd get that player. I think he screwed up again by taking Culver instead of trading back into the first round in a 1 for 2 deal of some kind. But I will remain open-minded about Culver. I'm convinced he has a high basketball IQ along with a terrific motor and work ethic. And now we know he has an elite vertical. :)

[Lipoli390]

Lip, seriously, this one photo now has you changing your mind about this kid!? C'mon man.

Q, were talking about lip here!:) I firmly believe that if culver measured out with 6'11 wingspan and 8'10 overhead reach, lip would not have been as negative in his initial reaction. He might even been in the culver/rosas camp from the get go;)

You are absolutely right, World. If Culver's overhead reach were nearly 6" longer than it actually is and all his other skills and attributes were the same, I would not have been as negative about the pick. He'd be a completely different player physically. If I were as negative, then I'd be certifiably nuts and not just quirky. :)

[Lipoli390]

One article I read about Culver suggested the Lakers give prospects more of a runway for their vertical leap. I can't find anything to substantiate that claim (I think that article was more of a well informed fan blogger). It's worth remembering that Lavine's 46 inch vertical was there after posting a 41.5 inch vertical at the combine. We don't have combine numbers for Culver. We all know LaVine is a freak athlete but a difference of over 4 inches is quite a lot. Regardless Culver looks like he can get up which is good to see. I'm interested in looking more into his lower body because World pointed it out as well as another piece I read last night.

The Lakers vertical inflation factor is interesting. But it doesn't change the fundamental fact that Culver's vertical is elite. It would just mean that Culver's actual combine vertical would be around 40.5." That's elite.

As I've pointed out, Culver's elite vertical has never been apparent to me watching him play. But that doesn't mean it hasn't helped his game or won't help his game in the future. Perhaps it had something to do with him averaging 6.4 rebounds per game. That stat is actually elite for a SG. I know a lot of things go into rebounding, but Culver's rebounding certainly wasn't helped by his dinosaur arms. :)