Texas Tech coach Mark Adams has ‘respect and appreciation’ for KU’s Kevin McCullar
Mark Adams has only positive things to say about Kansas senior men’s basketball guard Kevin McCullar, a player he tutored the past four seasons as both head coach and an assistant at Texas Tech.
“I certainly have a lot of respect and appreciation for Kevin McCullar,” Adams, Texas Tech’s second-year head coach who has been on the Red Raider staff since 2016, said Monday in a news conference in Lubbock, Texas. That’s the site of Tuesday’s Big 12 battle between the No. 3-ranked Jayhawks (12-1, 1-0 Big 12) and the unranked Red Raiders (10-3, 0-1).
Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. at United Supermarkets Arena.
McCullar, a 6-foot-6 native of San Antonio — he redshirted his freshman season at Tech and then was a rotation player for the Red Raiders the past three years — entered the NCAA transfer portal last spring. He ultimately chose KU over Gonzaga.
“He’s a really good player and he’s gotten better,” Adams said of McCullar, who averages 11.5 points and 7.7 rebounds per game for the Jayhawks.
“He’s better this year than he was last year and he’s going to continue to grow. He’s got great work habits. He’s a tough physical player. He was one of our best defensive players last year and he’s doing that for KU,” Adams added.
Yet Adams pointed out McCullar is not the only Jayhawk the Red Raiders must try to contain on Tuesday night.
“We’ve got our work cut out with a lot of other players — with (Jalen) Wilson and Gradey Dick, who are two of the best offensive players in the country,” Adams said. “They have a really good point guard (Dajuan Harris), so we’ve got a handful of issues and challenges ahead of us, Kevin McCullar just being one of them.”
Adams reiterated his praise for McCullar on Monday night on his weekly coach’s radio show.
“Kevin McCullar is playing well. He’s a guy who did a lot for our program. We have a lot of respect for Kevin and I think he does (have respect) for us as well,” Adams said on the show. “He’s playing even better than he did for us last year.”
Adams has yet to experience defeat as a head coach in United Supermarkets Arena. Tech went 18-0 at home last season, including 9-0 in Big 12 play. The team is 8-0 at home this year. The Red Raiders won the final three home games of the 2020-21 season, meaning the overall home-court win streak is 29 games.
Adams noted that the Tech students are not currently on campus with second semester classes set to begin on Jan. 11. He said Monday he’s still hoping United Supermarkets Arena (15,000 capacity) will be full for the KU-Tech contest.
KU is 1-0 in the league after rallying from a 15-point halftime deficit to defeat Oklahoma State 69-67 on Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse. Tech led by 11-points at halftime, but fell to TCU, 67-61, in Fort Worth, Texas.
This story was originally published January 3, 2023 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Texas Tech coach Mark Adams has ‘respect and appreciation’ for KU’s Kevin McCullar."
