Last year it was Remy Martin. This year it’s Kevin McCullar. Kansas has needed impactful transfers in order to be successful these past two seasons. For Martin, the transition was anything but smooth. He struggled to see the floor early due to being unreliable defensively, and there were even rumors that Remy had a knee injury that would keep him out for the remainder of the year. Once the calendar flipped to March, he became a spark that was desperately needed in games against Creighton, Providence, and North Carolina. His step-back 3 to retake the lead with under three minutes left is burned in my brain and one of the most memorable Kansas shots in my lifetime.
For McCullar, it was a more natural fit. McCullar is the type of defense-first, high effort player that Bill Self craves for his teams. From Marcus Garrett to Landen Lucas to Russell Robinson, these players have played valuable roles for successful teams. Coming into the season, it was expected that McCullar would need to be the secondary scorer to Jalen Wilson in order for this team to have the success we’ve seen them achieve. Gradey Dick has stepped up to fill that role lessening the pressure on McCullar on the offensive end of the floor. While I personally would love to see him hit a few more 3s in the corner, his ability to get to the rim and score off offensive rebounds has given this team a lift offensively as he’s become a double-digit scorer on a consistent basis. At this point, his offense is an added bonus for the team. As the third and sometimes fourth offensive option, McCullar has been able to put his energy and focus where Self truly wants it: defense.
McCullar was named a Naismith Defensive Player of the Year semifinalist, which is supported by advanced statistics. The chart on the left outlines the percentile rank for him in a few defensive categories, and the only metric below the 90th percentile is steals per personal foul. He averages over two steals per game and some of that aggressiveness results in fouls, which seems like an understandable trade-off but only to an extent. One of the biggest concerns for Kansas in the tournament will be McCullar’s ability to stay out of foul trouble especially against teams whose offensive leader is a wing. Having to play Joseph Yesufu, Wilson, or Dick on another team’s top scorer for extended periods of time could turn into a difficult situation for this team. While Dajuan Harris can sometimes step up to defend a wing in these situations with Bobby Pettiford guarding the opposing point guard, it would be better for the team if McCullar can avoid some of these fouls while finding a way to maintain his defensive effectiveness.
The Hakeem percentage is one of my favorite metrics on the chart above. It is a sum of a player’s block and steal percentages. While some centers may have a high block percentage and guards may have a high steal percentage, the combination of both helps show McCullar is elite in both areas. In fact, McCullar is one of only 26 players in the entire country at or above the 90th percentile in both steal and block rate percentages. Out of those 26, only four have played more minutes than McCullar as of last Wednesday. He’s playing at a high level of defense that few players in the country can replicate and is deserving of any accolades he receives this year.1
The chart on the right is useful when looking to see where a player impacts the game by showing percentile ranks for different areas. For a player like Harris, you’ll see higher bars in the Ball Control section of the chart. For a player like Dick, you’ll see higher bars in the Shooting Accuracy section. As you would expect for McCullar, the defensive section outweighs the other three. The chart provides some context as to where he is adding value to this Kansas team and how impactful his defense truly is. His defense has helped push this team to a KenPom ranking in the top 10 for defensive efficiency, which, if it remains in the top 10 through the tournament, would be only the second time in the last seven seasons that a Kansas team finished in the top 10.2 Self has found ways to utilize McCullar’s skillset through game plans at times, but McCullar also creates plays on his own.
One of the biggest questions going into the Kentucky game was how Kansas would handle Oscar Tschiebwe. Self chose to double team Tschiebwe when he caught the ball, usually using McCullar as the help defender. The above play shows how this would work on most possessions. Kansas understood the set was designed to give Tschiebwe space in the paint by setting a screen and either sealing his man under the basket with almost no chance of stopping him or by getting a switch on the screen and having a smaller defender guarding him near the basket. Self took these options away by having the corner man push up to cover the man coming off of the screen and leaving McCullar with a foot in the paint to help the post player. This could have backfired if the ballhandler was able to complete a skip pass to the corner and McCullar couldn’t recover in time, but Kentucky prefers to play through Tschiebwe. On this play, Kentucky’s point guard chose to throw the pass inside to Tschiebwe, and McCullar used his basketball IQ and athleticism to jump in front of the pass. This is a perfect example of how McCullar impacts games defensively within the scouting report put together by Self and the other coaches.3
McCullar also makes plays within the game outside of the scouting report. Due to Kansas switching on screens, the wings will often find themselves defending bigger players at times. On this possession against West Virginia, McCullar gets matched up on Tre Mitchell who is 6’9, 225 lbs. He rips the ball out of Mitchell’s hands almost as easily as I rip things out of my one year old son’s hands. His anticipation on this play allows him to get his hands into a position to create a jump ball situation, but his strength in taking the ball away is something very few players could do. The ball was passed into Mitchell, and it appeared that he would either score or have a shot within a couple of feet from the basket. McCullar forcing a turnover on this possession in a two point game gave Kansas the opportunity to extend their lead.4 Defensive plays like these can help flip momentum and be discouraging to teams who are fighting to stay in games.
Some individual defensive plays can help to seal games. On one of the biggest possessions in the TCU game two weeks ago, McCullar added another highlight to his reel. After being bumped on a screen attempt, he recovers to help challenge the initial shot then is able to tie up the TCU player. He only gets credited with one block on this possession, but it felt as though it was a double-block possession by McCullar. By forcing a jump ball and turnover on this play, McCullar gave Kanas the ball back again in a position to extend a small lead at the end of a game. He had help from Adams on the initial shot, but having a player who you can trust to recover and challenge shots is important at the end of games where one possession can send you home for the season. McCullar has more than filled that role for Kansas so far this year. Speaking of the ability to recover…
McCullar’s game against Texas Tech on Senior Day was the perfect encapsulation of his season: eight defensive rebounds, two blocks, and one steal. Some of the energy he brought to this game could have been due to the love shown by KU fans all season (especially after Tech fans chanted their hatred at him in Lubbock), but that would be selling McCullar short. He has combined for three or more blocks plus steals in 20 of the 32 games this year. In short, we’ve become accustomed to elite defense because of his consistency. In the play above, he recovers from the free throw line to block a surefire layup for Texas Tech in a four point game. Most players (including Wilson and Adams) would recognize that the other team is about to add two points and start preparing to move up the floor for offense: not Kevin McCullar. He reads the play as the pass is being made and hustles to make the block. His block on a transition opportunity by Tech earlier in the half also showed his ability to recover. McCullar never gives up on a play. Unfortunately, this sometimes leads to fouls due to his being out of position, but Self probably prefers someone who gives effort 100% of the time rather than someone who goes hard 90% of the time to avoid fouls.
After last season, Kansas needed someone who could step in and help fill the gap left when Christian Braun went to the NBA. While not a perfect replacement, McCullar has provided elite defense, an unending motor, and valuable leadership for a team that should be a one seed when the brackets are unveiled next Sunday. He’s helped elevate a team who had a chance to be a great defensive team into an elite defensive team. He’s only been at Kansas for one year, but the way it finishes could elevate his name into Kansas basketball history books similar to what Martin did last year. Even if this season doesn’t end in another championship, McCullar has helped raise the level of this year’s team and will be a vital piece of any tournament run they make.
I began writing this last week, and McCullar has since been named a member of the First Team All-Big 12 Defensive and Third Team All-Big 12. He was also named the captain of The Athletic’s “Glue-Guy” team.
It feels like Bill Self would prefer for this to happen more frequently than it does.
Something else the McCullar does at the end of this clip is a quick transition pass up the court to Harris. Turning his steals into easy points on the other end is another key piece to McCullar’s impact on this team.
McCullar actually drove all the way down the floor and was fouled hitting two free throws to push the lead to four.