Minnesota Sports Forum

Jarrett Culver's handle and overall ability to beat guys off the dribble is being undervalued here. He's not an explosive athlete in the sense of Russell Westbrook or Paul George, and he doesn't have the handle of a Chris Paul or Damian Lillard, but he is plenty capable of creating for himself. It's that ability -- and his bag full of counters -- paired with his above average feel for the game that should make you think highly of his potential. Oh, and the guy is going to be an impact defender. These are some of the reasons why draft pundits considered him a high floor option, but also why plenty think he can become a star.

Camden wrote:Jarrett Culver's handle and overall ability to beat guys off the dribble is being undervalued here. He's not an explosive athlete in the sense of Russell Westbrook or Paul George, and he doesn't have the handle of a Chris Paul or Damian Lillard, but he is plenty capable of creating for himself. It's that ability -- and his bag full of counters -- paired with his above average feel for the game that should make you think highly of his potential. Oh, and the guy is going to be an impact defender. These are some of the reasons why draft pundits considered him a high floor option, but also why plenty think he can become a star.

He's going to have to knock down outside shots though because opposing defenders will eventually learn about his counters and sit on them by giving him cushion.

Q12543 wrote:

Camden wrote:Jarrett Culver's handle and overall ability to beat guys off the dribble is being undervalued here. He's not an explosive athlete in the sense of Russell Westbrook or Paul George, and he doesn't have the handle of a Chris Paul or Damian Lillard, but he is plenty capable of creating for himself. It's that ability -- and his bag full of counters -- paired with his above average feel for the game that should make you think highly of his potential. Oh, and the guy is going to be an impact defender. These are some of the reasons why draft pundits considered him a high floor option, but also why plenty think he can become a star.

He's going to have to knock down outside shots though because opposing defenders will eventually learn about his counters and sit on them by giving him cushion.

You're not wrong here, Q. But I also think there's too much emphasis being placed on his sophomore shooting splits when just a year prior he would have been considered a pretty damn good three-point shooter on respectable volume. Which Culver is the real Culver? Will the real Jarrett Culver please stand up? Or perhaps the noise we've heard about him altering his shot mechanics last year are true and it's just a case of taking a step back initially to improve long-term returns.

Either way, I think Culver will return to being a decent perimeter shooter. Anywhere from 35-38 percent from three, I think, is still in play for him.

Camden0916 wrote:Jarrett Culver's handle and overall ability to beat guys off the dribble is being undervalued here. He's not an explosive athlete in the sense of Russell Westbrook or Paul George, and he doesn't have the handle of a Chris Paul or Damian Lillard, but he is plenty capable of creating for himself. It's that ability -- and his bag full of counters -- paired with his above average feel for the game that should make you think highly of his potential. Oh, and the guy is going to be an impact defender. These are some of the reasons why draft pundits considered him a high floor option, but also why plenty think he can become a star.

Bingo!

Camden wrote:

Q12543 wrote:

Camden wrote:Jarrett Culver's handle and overall ability to beat guys off the dribble is being undervalued here. He's not an explosive athlete in the sense of Russell Westbrook or Paul George, and he doesn't have the handle of a Chris Paul or Damian Lillard, but he is plenty capable of creating for himself. It's that ability -- and his bag full of counters -- paired with his above average feel for the game that should make you think highly of his potential. Oh, and the guy is going to be an impact defender. These are some of the reasons why draft pundits considered him a high floor option, but also why plenty think he can become a star.

He's going to have to knock down outside shots though because opposing defenders will eventually learn about his counters and sit on them by giving him cushion.

You're not wrong here, Q. But I also think there's too much emphasis being placed on his sophomore shooting splits when just a year prior he would have been considered a pretty damn good three-point shooter on respectable volume. Which Culver is the real Culver? Will the real Jarrett Culver please stand up? Or perhaps the noise we've heard about him altering his shot mechanics last year are true and it's just a case of taking a step back initially to improve long-term returns.

Either way, I think Culver will return to being a decent perimeter shooter. Anywhere from 35-38 percent from three, I think, is still in play for him.

I hope so, because that will be key for him since he doesn't have the blazing speed or athleticism to blow by, over, or around guys. That outside shot combined with savvy footwork and change-of-speed stuff will be great, but it's all predicated on keeping the defense honest so he can get guys on his hip. I have just seen so many young players come through this franchise and never develop a reliable 3-point shot.

Again, I agree with Q. Of course we all want Culver to succeed. Actually we all want him to become a star. And we all recognize he's talented and was highly regarded among draft prospects.

But I'm sure we can also all agree that Culver's perimeter shot is suspect, that he's not particularly long for his position and not especially quick. Then again, he's similar to Brandon Roy and DeRozan in all those respects. And he projects to be a better defender than DeRozan. Culver also apparently has an exceptional vertical like Roy along with a great work ethic and passion for the game. Obviously The Wolves front office was very high on Culver having traded to 5 spots to get him or Garland.

So I'm hopeful that we finally have a prospect who will develop into an all-star caliber player. It's about time!

By the way, we ran into a former Texas Tech classmate of Culver. She has two classes with him - Econ and psychology. They worked on a class project together. She said he's a really nice guy. She described him as the only guy on the team who didn't act as if he was special.

We asked if he went to class regularly. She laughed and said once or sometimes twice a week. :) But she added that he showed up to work on their project.

Anyway, thought I'd share that little tidbit.

lipoli390 wrote:By the way, we ran into a former Texas Tech classmate of Culver. She has two classes with him - Econ and psychology. They worked on a class project together. She said he's a really nice guy. She described him as the only guy on the team who didn't act as if he was special.

We asked if he went to class regularly. She laughed and said once or sometimes twice a week. :) But she added that he showed up to work on their project.

Anyway, thought I'd share that little tidbit.

Good stuff Lip. Ryan Saunders said during his stint with the game commentators that he was a very polite, "yes sir", "no sir" type of kid and pretty serious too. I know his Dad is a pastor (not that all preachers' kids or all preachers for that matter - end up being humble and kind, but Culver seems to be the real deal).

Culver officially signs

Can culver play pg? He played pg in high school and did a lot of ball handling in college. Im confident in him as a secondary ball handler/playmaker but Im not sure if he can be a primary one.

With tyus likely gone and being deep with wings on the roster. Il experiment with culver at the pg spot. I remember oladipo started his career as a point guard for the magic. The idea wasnt to play him there permanently but to further his development as a player where added skills can help him down the line as a player.