NBA Comparison: Justin Anderson

Strengths: McCullar is a 6’7 200 SF/SG with decent length, strength and mobility on the wing … Experienced player who showed some improved savvy on both ends of the court at the college level with each year … Was having a breakthrough season as a 5th year Sr. before a knee injury slowed him; became the Jayhawks go-to scorer on the perimeter (18.8 PPG on 45 FG% in ‘23-24) … Reads the floor and will find openings; backdoor cutting for points is a staple for Kansas wings and McCullar was no stranger to success with it … Also was pretty good in the open court getting some easy points …I s slowly but surely becoming more confident in his spot-up 3-point shooting, which is welcomed given his 3-and-D projections as a pro (4.5 3FGA/G, 39 made 3s in 26 games in ‘23-24)…Unselfish player with somewhat underrated versatility (posted 2 triple doubles as a Sr.); willingly played different roles out of necessity at various points of his college career … Decent floor vision; does what he can in terms of moving the ball in the flow of the offense and finding the open man (career best 4.1 APG in ‘23-24) … Willing to get physical, even against bigger players, and was a productive rebounder in college (6.5 RPG in his 2 season at KU)…Was consistently among the best defensive players in college basketball throughout his career, and that will also be his calling card in the NBA … Competes and will likely be asked to match up with the other teams best wing scorer in any event that he’s on an NBA court … Defended some of every position in college and generally held his own, showing his toughness, and it’s fairly easy to see him being someone who can defend anywhere on the perimeter as a pro and occasionally even at the 4 spot …

Weaknesses: Nothing special as an athlete and can struggle to contain quick players on the wing, looking somewhat heavy-footed at times … Aggression was occasionally used against him defensively, leading to him being “handsy” and foul prone at times during his career (multiple seasons with 3 FPG, fouled out of 4 games in ‘22-23 season )… Despite his big jump in production at Kansas, doesn’t project to be more than a last resort scoring option offensively at the NBA level … Comfort as a floor spacer has improved but he still wasn’t a true knockdown shooter (33 3FG% was a career best), and he still could stand to improve on the fundamentals of his shot as he has a somewhat hitched release … Not a natural scorer and has a very basic reportoire when it comes to creating offense…Won’t make something out of nothing with his lackluster 1st step and handles, and his offensive production was more the product of the scheme he played in and necessity than his actual talent … Took on a playmaking role this past season but doesn’t project to have the ball in his hands enough for that to translate nearly as much in the pro ranks … Older prospect who would be 24 at the end of his rookie season … Was not much of a scorer or shooter until his “super” senior season …

Overall: Kevin McCullar was a 4-star recruit from San Antonio when he signed to Texas Tech as an early graduate and redshirted his 1st season, which is when the Red Raiders made an appearance in the 2019 national game, to rehab a broken leg that he suffered in his last HS game … He stepped into the role of 6th man as a Fr. before establishing himself as a hard-nosed defensive stopper, secondary playmaker and opportunistic scorer his next 2 seasons at Texas Tech … He then transferred to play for Bill Self and the Kansas Jayhawks, where he started for 2 seasons and was having an All-American type year as a 5th year Sr. before a nagging knee injury took a toll on him and he shut down his season around March Madness time to prepare for the pros …. Him sitting out was seemingly a big deal for a Jayhawk team that was lacking depth this past season, and they sputtered to end the season…McCullar was clearly a valuable player to them as their top perimeter scoring threat, defensive stopper and his emergence as a playmaker they ran plenty of offense through … He was beginning to establish himself firmly as a lock to be drafted, even projected at early points of the season to be as high as a mid 1st round pick potentially…His perimeter defense and toughness will be his main selling point as a pro prospect, and teams will also be interested to see if they can build on his improvement shooting from distance, which would make him more easily appealing as a 3-and-D wing…He’s older, has dealt with multiple lower extremity injuries and has some limitations to his game that plateau his upside, but McCullar could hear his name called in the 2024 Draft given his college pedigree and the clear value he has as a potential stopper … Best case he develops into a player in the mold of a Malcolm Brogdon / Josh Hart …

Notes: Measured: 6’5.5” barefoot, 6’7.0” in shoes, 8’5.5” standing reach, 200.4 lbs, 6’9.0” wingspan at the 2022 NBA G-League Elite Camp … Measured: 6′ 5.25” barefoot, 205.8 lbs, 6′ 9.0” wingspan, 8′ 7.0” standing reach at the 2024 NBA Draft Combine …

Jorrye Nixon 6/19/23