KU’s McCullar excels late in return to Lubbock: ‘We wouldn’t have won without Kevin’
Kevin McCullar heard scattered boos during pregame warmup drills, boos that increased in volume and intensity during introductions for the visitor’s starting lineup before Tuesday night’s Kansas-Texas Tech basketball game at United Supermarkets Arena.
McCullar, Kansas’ 6-foot-6 combo guard from San Antonio who attended Tech for four years prior to transferring to Lawrence, also was treated to “(Bleep) you, Kevin” chants from the student section on at least two or three occasions during the Big 12 battle.
None of that — including getting booed virtually every time he touched the ball — bothered McCullar, the hero of the last minute and 20 seconds of KU’s 75-72 victory over Tech, a win that pushed KU to 2-0 in the Big 12 Conference and 13-1 overall.
Tech dropped to 0-2 in the Big 12 and 10-4 overall.
“Fans are going to be fans,” McCullar said after scoring seven points on 3-of-9 shooting with two rebounds, three assists and a steal in 27 minutes.
“This is what we play the game for. I know millions of kids want to be in my position I’m in. Life is too short to let some boos and stuff, yelling and stuff like that, get to me. I went out there, stayed with my brothers and we pulled out the ‘W.’”
McCullar hit a jump shot with 1:20 left to give the Jayhawks a 73-70 lead. It was a huge shot considering Tech had trailed by 10 points with 3:49 left and was closing fast.
Next, McCullar came up with a steal with nine seconds to play, with Tech down 73-72 and setting up for a final jumper or drive to the goal.
After picking up the loose ball, McCullar fired ahead to KJ Adams (14 points on 7-of-13 shooting, five rebounds), who flushed a breakaway slam dunk with seven seconds left. That dunk put the Jayhawks up by three at 75-72.
“I got the ball. I knew they were going to try to foul quick. I tried to get it out of my hands,” McCullar said. “I saw KJ sprint hard. I threw it to him. He took flight. There was a collision at the rim but he dunked it.”
Adams said: “I know when we get in late game situations, in the open court I can run as fast as anybody. ... Kevin is gonna fly that ball whether I’m open or not, so I’m just ready for it.”
No foul was called on the Adams dunk, and Tech had a final seven seconds to hit a three and force overtime.
Instead, McCullar played good defense on Kevin Obanor, who missed a well-guarded trey with one second left. Obanor finished with 26 points on 8-of-14 shooting. He hit 4 of 8 threes.
KU coach Bill Self offered his take on McCullar’s clutch play after the game.
“I thought he did fine,” Self said. “He got two fouls early (thus played just 10 minutes the first half). Kevin liked it here (at Tech). He loved it here. Both parents went to school here. He loves coach (Mark) Adams and the staff, those guys. And the welcome he got (from fans upset he hit the transfer portal) was exactly the way it should be.
“He knows it. If it messed with him, then he’s had 10 months to prepare for that because he knew that was coming. It would mess with anybody.”
Of McCullar in crunch time, Self said: “He was aggressive. He didn’t make shots, but (he) made the biggest shot of the game. He didn’t do a ton. He got the biggest steal of the game. We wouldn’t have won without Kevin in the last 40 seconds or whatever it was.”
McCullar had a nice chat with his former coach, Adams, in the handshake line after the game. This was the first home loss (against 26 wins) in Adams’ first two seasons at Tech.
“Just how fun it was competing,” McCullar said of what was said. “He was glad to see me out there doing my thing. We chopped it up quick. I said it was good to see him. It was good to see everybody. I’m glad we came out with a ‘W.’’’
McCullar added. “Our main goal coming to Lubbock was coming out with a ‘W.’”
What will he remember about the fans?
“I knew it was coming,” McCullar said. “I’m glad we got a ‘W.’ We were tested and kept a level head the whole game.”
KU’s Dajuan Harris scored 18 points on 6-of-7 shooting with three assists and two steals. He was 5-of-5 from three. The last Jayhawk to be perfect from three in a game with five or more attempts was Lagerald Vick, who went 8-of-8 on Nov. 12, 2018, vs. Vermont.
Jalen Wilson had 16 points and six boards; Gradey Dick added 11 points and eight boards. Bobby Pettiford had seven points and six assists in 25 minutes.
KU will next meet West Virginia at 5 p.m. Saturday in Morgantown, West Virginia.
This story was originally published January 4, 2023 at 12:09 AM with the headline "KU’s McCullar excels late in return to Lubbock: ‘We wouldn’t have won without Kevin’."
