Former KU guard McCullar makes his long-awaited debut for the Knicks’ G-League team
Former Kansas Jayhawks men’s basketball guard Kevin McCullar made his long-awaited professional basketball debut on Thursday night.
McCullar, a 6-foot-6, 210-pound, 23-year-old San Antonio native, who was selected by the Phoenix Suns at No. 56 overall in the 2024 NBA draft and immediately traded to the New York Knicks after playing for KU for two seasons, scored 10 points on 4-of-9 shooting with one assist, one steal and one turnover in the Westchester Knicks’ 119-111 G League loss to the Osceola Magic Thursday at Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee, Florida.
He was 0-for-3 from 3 and 2-of-2 from the line while playing 16 minutes.
“Man after a long year it felt good to be back out there competing! God is so good,” McCullar wrote Thursday night on social media site X.
A knee injury prevented McCullar from playing for KU in the 2023-24 postseason. His last game as a Jayhawk was in the 2023-24 regular-season finale at Houston on March 9, 2014 in which he played 15 minutes.
Because of a bone bruise in his knee, he missed KU’s game against Cincinnati in the Big 12 tournament, then did not play in KU’s two NCAA Tournament games (win over Samford, loss to Gonzaga).
He averaged 18.3 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.1 assists in 26 games his senior year. He played at KU in 2022-23 and ’23-24 after playing three seasons at Texas Tech.
He missed six of the final 12 games of last season while receiving treatment on his knee.
“I have done everything that I possibly could have done to get back playing at a high level to help my team,” McCullar said prior to the start of the 2024 Big 12 tourney. “This included 6-7 hours a day with the training staff at Kansas for over a month now, while not participating in practice but competing in games. While trying various treatment options, it’s simply not where it needs to be to play the game.”
He was unable to compete at the NBA Combine or participate in drills for NBA teams prior to the draft. The Knicks selected him in the second round after trading for the pick with Phoenix. He was not able to compete in the NBA summer league or at training camp as he rehabbed his knee.
The Knicks in August signed McCullar to a two-way contract.
