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 NBA 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-foot-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 Tournament and the NCAA Tournament.
McCullar played his first three collegiate seasons at Texas Tech before transferring to Lawrence for his final two years of eligibility.
According to Roberts, early comparisons between McCullar and do-it-all Knicks wing Josh Hart are valid, saying, “I coached against Josh Hart when he was at Villanova, and they are very similar players.”
He also compared McCullar with former Kansas wing Christian Braun, who won an NBA championship as a rookie with the Nuggets in 2023.
“I actually think he’s a plug-and-play guy right now if they were to need him to be,” Roberts said of McCullar. “I think you can play Kevin right away. We had Christian Braun, too, and they are very similar in that regard. Christian Braun may be more athletic, jumping-wise, but I would say Kevin McCullar has better ball skills than Christian had while he was here.
“But they are cut out of the same cloth. Christian goes to Denver and plays like 15 minutes per game his first year, they win the championship. Now he’s playing 24 per game and who knows, maybe he’ll have a chance to start there next year. I believe Kevin can be that type of guy in the right situation.”
Of course, the Knicks already have terrific depth on the wings with Hart, a re-signed OG Anunoby, newcomer Mikal Bridges and Donte DiVincenzo, so there probably isn’t much playing time available for the rookie unless injuries arise.
McCullar also clearly needs to improve his outside shot after posting a .309 shooting percentage from 3-point range during his college career.
“Kevin McCullar is a winner, he’s tough…And he’s definitely tough enough to handle New York,” Roberts said. “The other thing I can say about him that they will love is he knows how to be a role guy and play that role to the best of his ability, and he knows how to be a lead guy, which he had to be for us this year. So he’s already played both roles, and he understands how to do both well.”
The 58-year-old Roberts attended Springfield Gardens H.S. in Queens, where he teamed with Mason, the former Knicks forward who died in 2015. He also coached for six seasons at St. John’s from 2004-10, so he knows what it means to the city to have the Knicks competitive again.
“The Knicks were terrific this year, and I’m so happy for [Tom Thibodeau] and the fans with what they’ve accomplished,” Roberts said. “Anthony Mason was a good friend of mine, we played high school ball together, and his son [Anthony Jr.] played for me at St. John’s. So we were very close.
“You can see that the fans feel about this team like they felt about those teams, and I think Kevin McCullar will fit in well with what they are doing.”
