January 30th

With a strong foundation on both ends of the floor, Jesse McCulloch fits the billing of the “modern-day big man.” His combination of three-point shooting and rim protection at a young age is one that is rare, and matched by few in recent memory.

Shooting: Through 20 games, McCulloch has made 8 of his 16 three-point attempts. While this sample size is far too small to analyze his shooting percentages, his confidence to shoot threes — i.e., his shooting volume — is much more analyzable and indicative of his excellent shooting projection. 40% of his field-goal attempts are three-point attempts, and he’s shooting 5.5 threes per 100 possessions, which rank in the 67th and 72nd percentiles among bigs, respectively. Additionally, while three-point percentage takes a large number of attempts to stabilize, free-throw percentage is much more stable in small sample sizes. McCulloch’s 91.7% conversion rate on 12 attempts, combined with his shooting volume, give him a strong shooting outlook at 6-foot-10.

Rim Protection: This one is quite simple. McCulloch has used his 7-foot-plus wingspan to accrue an 8.6% block rate and 1.6 blocks per 100 possessions, the latter of which ranks in the 70th percentile.

Among qualifying underclassmen since 2008, only 19 players have posted an 8% block rate, 70% free-throw percentage, and 10 or more total three-point attempts in a single season. Among them, nine went on to play in the NBA. McCulloch is set to join this list as the 20th player. While he has several areas to improve in — namely defensive rebounding and finishing — his foundation of shooting and rim protection is one that is strong and gives him significant upside.