Jarrett Culver is just hours away from completing his journey to the NBA, but his development started with a familial rivalry. Fresh from leading Texas Tech to the national championship game, Culver is one of the best two-way players in the draft, and could be a top-5 pick. The 20-year-old credits much of his success to a common childhood struggle while growing up in Lubbock, Texas. “It started with my two older brothers,” Culver said Wednesday. “I’m the youngest, so growing up with them they always beat me and beat up on me. I was the smallest, so I had to work for what I wanted to get and compete with them — I always had to play up. That’s where my work ethic came from. It kind of molded me into the person I am today.” Culver was the youngest in an athletic family, and regularly played basketball with his two brothers. That required him to face competition well-above his age. He played high school basketball with his brother J.J., who later went on to play at Wayland Baptist University in Plainview, Texas. His eldest brother, Trey, became a decorated athlete for the Texas Tech track and field team, winning the indoor national championship and outdoor Big 12 championship in the high jump. Most recently, Trey high-jumped 7 feet, 7 ¾ inches, the fourth-best mark in NCAA history. But his brothers’ dominance over Jarrett didn’t last forever. “It started to turn during my sophomore and junior year when I started to grow,” Culver said with a smirk. “Once I started getting taller, more mature, I started to catch up a little and compete with them. It felt good.” Culver’s brothers helped fuel his competitiveness, which he said, in turn, propelled him to collegiate stardom. One of the best defensive players in the country, Culver averaged 18.5 points per game on 46 percent shooting from the field and brought the Red Raiders inches away from an improbable national championship. As his driveway pickup games with his brothers became fewer, Culver found another source of inspiration in Texas Tech coach Chris Beard. “Just his hard work, and his determination,” Culver said. “He works as hard as anybody that I know, I take that from him. He’s obsessed with it. I kind of feel like I have to be obsessed with my game. In those similar ways I feel like I’ve learned a lot from him.”
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Jarrett Culver is just hours away from completing his journey to the NBA, but his development started with a familial rivalry. Fresh from leading Texas Tech to the national championship game, Culver is one of the best two-way players in the draft, and could be a top-5 pick. The 20-year-old credits much of his success to a common childhood struggle while growing up in Lubbock, Texas. “It started with my two older brothers,” Culver said Wednesday. “I’m the youngest, so growing up with them they always beat me and beat up on me. I was the smallest, so I had to work for what I wanted to get and compete with them — I always had to play up. That’s where my work ethic came from. It kind of molded me into the person I am today.” Culver was the youngest in an athletic family, and regularly played basketball with his two brothers. That required him to face competition well-above his age. He played high school basketball with his brother J.J., who later went on to play at Wayland Baptist University in Plainview, Texas. His eldest brother, Trey, became a decorated athlete for the Texas Tech track and field team, winning the indoor national championship and outdoor Big 12 championship in the high jump. Most recently, Trey high-jumped 7 feet, 7 ¾ inches, the fourth-best mark in NCAA history. But his brothers’ dominance over Jarrett didn’t last forever. “It started to turn during my sophomore and junior year when I started to grow,” Culver said with a smirk. “Once I started getting taller, more mature, I started to catch up a little and compete with them. It felt good.” Culver’s brothers helped fuel his competitiveness, which he said, in turn, propelled him to collegiate stardom. One of the best defensive players in the country, Culver averaged 18.5 points per game on 46 percent shooting from the field and brought the Red Raiders inches away from an improbable national championship. As his driveway pickup games with his brothers became fewer, Culver found another source of inspiration in Texas Tech coach Chris Beard. “Just his hard work, and his determination,” Culver said. “He works as hard as anybody that I know, I take that from him. He’s obsessed with it. I kind of feel like I have to be obsessed with my game. In those similar ways I feel like I’ve learned a lot from him.”
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