Texas Tech guard Jarrett Culver has been selected for The Associated Press All-America team on Tuesday. In his sophomore seaosn, he is averaging 18.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.5 steals per game and has helped lead the Red Raiders to their first Final Four.
A Lubbock native, Culver was named the first Big 12 Conference Player of the Year in program history and is a consensus All-America after also earning NABC, USBWA and Sporting News All-America honors. He was named to the AP All-America Second-Team after he earned West Region Most Outstanding Player after averaging 21.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and 4.5 assist per game in the first rounds leading into the Final Four. He led Tech with 19 points and had five rebounds in the Elite Eight win over Gonzaga after coming off a 22-point performance against Michigan where he hit nine shots and was 4-for-4 at the free-throw line. Culver and the Red Raiders (30-6) will play Michigan State (32-6) at 7:49 p.m. on Saturday in the Final Four at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The AP First Team includes Zion Williamson (Duke), Grant Williams (Tennessee), RJ Barrett (Duke), Ja Morant (Murray State) and Cassius Winston (Michigan State). Joining Culver on the second team are: Rui Hachimura (Gonzaga), Markus Howard (Marquette), Ethan Happ (Wisconsin) and Carsen Edwards (Purdue). Third-Team selections include De’Andre Hunter (Virginia), Dedric Lawson (Kansas), Brandon Clarke (Gonzaga), PJ Washington (Kentucky) and Kyle Guy (Virginia).
Culver is the fourth Red Raider in program history to earn a spot on the AP All-America team following Jason Sasser (1995-96), Andre Emmett (2003-04) and Keenan Evans (2017-18). Tech’s history on the AP All-America include honorable mention selections for Jarrius Jackson, Cory Carr, Tony Battie, Sasser, Will Flemons, Bubba Jennings, Mike Russell, Rick Bullock, Dub Malaise, Harold Hudgens and Jim Reed.
Culver is the first player to reach 1,000 points as a freshman-sophomore in program history and is the 42nd player in program history to reach the milestone and is currently 31st on the all-time scoring list. He started the NCAA Tournament by going off for 29 points, eight rebounds and a career-high eight assists in the first-round win over Northern Kentucky and then recorded his fifth double-double of the season with 16 points and 10 rebounds against Buffalo. He enters the Final Four having scored 1,094 career points after coming into the national postseason having recorded a career-high 31 in the regular-season finale at Iowa State and then his fourth double-double of the season with 26 points and 10 rebounds in the Big 12 Championship quarterfinals against West Virginia. His 17.8 points per game in Big 12 play ranked as the program’s fifth most. Culver was named the Big 12 Conference Player of the Week three times this season after he earned the award following his 31 points against ISU that followed 16 points and seven rebounds against Texas in the home finale. He won his second Big 12 weekly honor after going for 26 points against Kansas and followed it by recording his third double-double of the season with 19 points and 10 rebounds in the win over Oklahoma State. Culver has led the team in scoring in 24 of 36 games and finished the conference campaign averaging 17.6 points, 6.8 rebounds and has 57 assists. Culver is a finalist for the Jerry West Award finalist and John R. Wooden Award along with being on the Oscar Robertson Trophy and Lute Olson Award watch lists. He has scored in double figures in 35 of 36 games and is shooting 47.6 percent from the field overall and was 44.6 percent in Big 12 play. Culver had recorded a previous career-high with 30 points against Abilene Christian on Dec. 20 where he went 12-for-13 from the field and hit four 3-pointers. He was named the Big 12 Player of the Week for the first time this season after the performance and followed it by going to New York and scoring 25 points against Duke. Culver is averaging 21.9 points and 6.6 rebounds per game in the last 10 games where he is shooting 43.5 percent from the field and also has 40 assists and 23 steals in those games.
Honorable Mention (alphabetical order)
Keith Braxton, St. Francis (Pa.); Ignas Brazdeikis, Michigan; Tookie Brown, Georgia Southern; Chris Clemons, Campbell; RJ Cole, Howard; Jeremy Combs, Texas Southern; Jarron Cumberland, Cincinnati; Mike Daum, South Dakota State; Joran Davis, Northern Colorado; Cameron Delaney, Sam Houston State; Lamine Diane, Cal State Northridge; Daniel Gafford, Arkansas; Jon Axel Gudmundsson, Davidson; Rapolas Ivanauskas, Colgate; Ty Jerome, Virginia; Cameron Johnson, North Carolina; Anthony Lamb, Vermont; Fletcher Magee, Wofford; Caleb Martin, Nevada; CJ Massinburg, Buffalo; Garrison Mathews, Lipscomb; Luke Maye, North Carolina; Drew McDonald, Northern Kentucky; Sam Merrill, Utah State; Jaylen Nowell, Washington; Miye Oni, Yale; Shamorie Ponds, St. John’s; Myles Powell, Seton Hall; Admiral Schofield, Tennessee; Marial Shayok, Iowa State; B.J. Stith, Old Dominion; Matisse Thybulle, Washington; Jake Toolson, Utah Valley; Marques Townes, Loyola of Chicago; Tremont Waters, LSU; Coby White, North Carolina; Justin Wright-Foreman, Hofstra; Cameron Young, Quinnipiac.
(Courtesy: Texas Tech Press Release)