Knicks’ ‘tough as nails’ draft pick Kevin McCullar Jr. ‘very similar’ to Josh Hart: Norm Roberts
NY Post
Norm Roberts, a former high school teammate of Anthony Mason’s and the former head coach at St. John’s, believes the Knicks landed themselves another fit for Tom Thibodeau’s system in the second round of the draft.
Roberts has served as an assistant coach under Bill Self with Kansas since 2012, so the New York native offers valuable insights on Kevin McCullar Jr. after the Knicks grabbed the former Jayhawks wing with the 56th-overall pick.
“He’ll fit in perfectly with the Knicks,” Roberts told The Post on Wednesday in a phone interview. “He’s a versatile player who can play on the ball or off the ball offensively, and he’s a multiple defensive player who can guard 1 through 4.
“He probably has as high of a defensive IQ as any player I’ve ever been around in my life. And he’s tough as nails, so he’ll go guard a 6-foot-9 guy or guard a 5-foot-11 guy. So that, to me, is a guy that will fit right in with who they are and what they do.”
Roberts believes the 6-6 McCullar, who led the Jayhawks in scoring last season at 18.3 points per game, “definitely was a first-round player” but slipped on draft boards due to a late-season bone bruise in his knee that sidelined him in the Big 12 and the NCAA tournaments.
McCullar played his first three collegiate seasons at Texas Tech before transferring to Lawrence for his final two years of eligibility.
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