‘I want to win a championship’: Kansas guard Kevin McCullar inspired by Christian Braun
Kansas Jayhawks guard Kevin McCullar arrived in Lawrence on Sunday with a new level of self-confidence.
After all, he’s one of just three returnees (McCullar, Dajaun Harris, KJ Adams) from last season’s KU men’s basketball team.
Despite playing just one season with KU to date, McCullar is a relative Lawrence veteran.
“I feel more comfortable,” McCullar said Wednesday. “There’s no adjustment period, I feel like for me. I know everybody. The whole staff believes in me and I’m ready to get work.”
His familiarity with KU basketball is huge for a roster with significant turnover.
“Everybody’s got to have confidence,” McCullar said. “Coming as a first-year guy trying to fit in and do different things like that. Now, I’m a guy that’s already been here a year. I’m not new to it.”
Last season, McCullar averaged 10.7 points, seven rebounds and 2.4 assists. He declared for the NBA Draft shortly after the season ended.
In late May, he withdrew from the NBA Draft process and elected to return to Kansas for his sixth and final season — a super-senior season.
Today, McCullar says he was very close to not returning to KU. He reiterated what Kevin McCullar Sr., Kevin’s father, told The Star in May when asked why his son withdrew from the draft.
“I knew I could have got picked in the second, for sure,” McCullar said. “But the second round, you never know what can go on in that business. It’s a business up there. I wanted to come back one more year and try to solidify myself.”
Throughout the process, McCullar kept in close contact with KU coach Bill Self.
“He has a plan for me and I want to come in and win a national championship,” McCullar said.
Perhaps the biggest reason McCullar came back? His shooting woes. He shot 29.6% from beyond the arc last season, something he needs to improve on to have a career in the NBA.
Despite McCullar’s shooting issues, Self isn’t worried about McCullar’s future NBA prospects.
“He will make a big difference for us,” Self said. “Obviously he’s got some things he can improve on, or he wouldn’t have come back. He’ll take it serious. He wants to be a player (in the NBA). He’s got to get more consistent shooting the basketball.
“He’s made some improvements in that area, but probably needs to take another step. I’m excited. I think we can put a pretty good defensive team out there are certain stretches.”
On Wednesday, McCullar helped out at Bill Self’s annual basketball camp.
“It’s been a blast so far; I’ve only been here for two days so far, but I’m enjoying every bit of it,” McCullar said. “Being here and working the camp with the kids has been great. (There’s) nothing like home.”
He also played a scrimmage in front of hundreds of campers.
McCullar finished with seven points on 3-for-6 shooting from the field. It was McCullar’s second time playing with the new-look Jayhawks.
“’It’s totally different,” McCullar said about KU’s overhauled team. “You know, our whole roster, top to bottom, is a lot of different pieces, a lot, a lot of different people, a lot of talented guys. So it’s really just about all of us buying in, finding our roles and then going from there.”
McCullar has been paying close attention to former Jayhawk Christian Braun and his NBA career. Recently, Braun has inspired McCullar.
Braun won a national championship with KU in 2022 and won an NBA title with the Denver Nuggets on Monday.
“I want to win a national championship,” McCullar said. “I’m trying to follow in (his) footsteps. I want to win a national championship here and leave Lawrence better than I came here.
“I want to win one bad. I want to go out my last year with a national championship.”
