Derek Culver gives WVU basketball a boost for 2018
The WVU basketball team signed its class for the 2018 season and it looks to be one of the best groups in the Big 12 Conference.
Joining the WVU basketball team will be Jordan McCabe and Andrew Gordon. Both McCabe and Gordon are great talents who have been on the radar for head coach Bob Huggins for quite sometime.
McCabe hails from Wisconsin and is one of the top high school players in the state. Gordon is a Florida native who most recently played at Northwest Florida State College.
There is one more recruit in this class who might just be one of the most intriguing prospects in the nation. Derek Culver, from Northeast Ohio, has been playing at Brewster Academy in New Hampshire this season. His path to Morgantown was delayed because of grades and other issues. According to Culver’s hometown newspaper, the Tribune Chronicle, him joining the WVU basketball team is a year later than expected.
According to New England Recruiting Report, Culver stands 6-foot-10 and plays both the center and forward positions. ESPN says Brewster is a dominant force in the prep ranks. So, it’s not as if Culver is taking a step back in his development. He could probably show up to the WVU basketball team in 2018 and be in better shape than if he joined the Mountaineers right out of high school.
Related Story: WVU basketball easily takes care of Long Beach State
Still, Culver has a lot of work ahead of him to get things in order and help West Virginia win games next season. He does have the ability to change the course of a game and in Huggins’ type of setting, he will add much-needed depth down low. This year, Lamont West and Sagaba Konate have emerged as strong scorers down low. Add Culver to that mix, and there are a number of different scoring avenues for Huggins to utilize with this team.
Gordon and McCabe will add a new dimension for the Mountaineers, too. Culver, however, might be the dominant force that Huggins has been waiting for to transform his offense.
Next: All-time WVU basketball team
If Culver can assert himself on defense, he should play right away next season. There is a lot to look forward to the rest of this season for the WVU basketball team. But the next recruiting class is also something to gleefully anticipate.