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The Texas Tech Red Raiders lost 4 seniors after this season due to graduation. There is one more player that will most likely join them, Jarret Culver. Culver is the reigning Big 12 Player of the Year and also won the NCAA West Region Most Outstanding Player Award and was named to the NCAA All-Tournament team. All signs point to him being a lottery pick in this season’s draft. Is there a chance he comes back?
If you sleeping you gotta WAKE UP @jarrettc08 pic.twitter.com/WrVZPmIxPH
— Overtime (@overtime) April 6, 2019
There is a teenzy-tiny-itty-bitty chance Culver comes back and it will have nothing to do with Coach Chris Beard. Beard is a great coach, and I’m sure he would love to have Culver come back. But Beard also understands how this is a once in a lifetime opportunity for Culver and will actually most likely encourage Culver to leave and pursue the NBA.
Jarrett Culver with an amazing drive on DeAndre Hunter in the guts of the game. pic.twitter.com/hmJ2LFDGrc
— Stew (@StewyHoops) April 9, 2019
If he did come back to Lubbock, it would be to avenge the lost the team just took in the National Championship. If Culver wanted to come back and become the greatest athlete in Texas Tech history, he could certainly do it. He could also be the one to lead them the program’s first National Championship. These things sound well and good, but they are most likely not going to get him to come back.
Jarrett Culver with a DAGGER! pic.twitter.com/scpCMQpLp6
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) April 7, 2019
Culver is ultimately going to do what he wants to do, whether he wants to stay in Lubbock or go to the NBA. Culver would most likely lose a bit of draft value if he stayed another season but his skill set would not be something that the NBA would not sleep on. If he got a good enough insurance policy that protected him in case of an injury, he could decide it might be a good decision to come back.
Jarrett Culver is all in defensively pic.twitter.com/OtnQuHQIOp
— Basketball Society (@BBallSociety_) April 9, 2019
Not matter what the decision was, Culver will go down as one of the greatest players in Texas Tech history and will make the program and the school proud. If I were him, I would most definitely leave and go to the NBA. He has a good chance of being the highest draft pick in Texas Tech history and could become a franchise player for someone in the near future. There is no doubt in my mind that with his skill set, he won’t be a draft and stash player like Zhaire Smith. He will definitely play in someone’s rotation early in his career and could turn into a starter-caliber player in the NBA.
Do you think Culver would stay? Let us know in the comment section below!