MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Ultimately, Derek Culver’s game will mature at the discretion of one person: Derek Culver.
“The reality is, I can show him what to do, but I can’t do it for him,” West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said.
Huggins explained how he could work with Culver on his shooting mechanics, “but I can only be with him for so long,” he said. “It’s up to him to put the time in.”
West Virginia’s 13th addition to the 20-20 club — Culver had 22 points and 21 rebounds against TCU on Tuesday — is still raw in his game, but he’s determined.
The 6-foot-10 forward will look for an encore performance at Saturday, when the Mountaineers (11-17, 3-12 Big 12) travel to Oklahoma (17-11, 5-10).
It’s Culver’s work ethic that has been most pleasing to Huggins, considering Culver was once a top-100, four-star recruit coming out of Warren G. Harding High in Ohio. Elite recruits often perceive themselves as being NBA-ready.
“They think they’re there, and there not there,” Huggins said. “They think they’ve already arrived at where a lot of hard work and preparation could put them.
“Honestly, I’m surprised Derek has played as hard as what he’s played, because he didn’t do that in high school. He relied on being bigger, stronger and faster.”
Having already joined the 20-20 plateau, Culver is closing in on joining another elite club at West Virginia.
Averaging 11.9 points and 9.7 rebounds per game, the freshman could become the first player since Kevin Jones in 2011-12 to average a double-double for the season.
With 16 rebounds against the Sooners, Culver could reach the mark with two regular-season games and at least one Big 12 tourney game remaining. If 16 sounds like a lot, Culver had 14 rebounds in his first game against Oklahoma in a game where WVU outrebounded the Sooners, 46-30.
Culver admits that looking for 16 rebounds, or recording the 21 he grabbed against TCU, once was unthinkable. That changed after West Virginia assistant Erik Martin got his hands on him this season.
“I wasn’t a rebounder like this in high school,” he said. “Working with E. Martin and Huggs has really helped me. That’s something I’ve learned this year. It wasn’t a skill I had in the past.”
Now, when the shot goes up, Culver now has one thing in mind.
“It’s mine,” he said. “That’s the mentality that the coaches want me to carry myself with. Every time the ball goes up, it has D.C.’s name on it.”
WVU players who averaged a double-double
Mark Workman (1952)
Mack Isner (1953)
Pete White (1955)
Rod Hundley (1956, 1957)
Jerry West (1958, 1959, 1960)
Lloyd Sharrar (1957, 1958)
Rod Thorn (1961, 1962)
Tom Lowry (1962, 1964)
Cary Bailey (1968, 1969)
Warren Baker (1974, 1975, 1976)
Maurice Robinson (1978)
Kevin Jones (2012)