Derek Culver Denies Report That He Has Declared to Leave WVU

West Virginia forward Derek Culver posted on his Instagram story Monday afternoon denying a report that he had declared to leave WVU.

From Culver’ Instagram story:

Culver’s post was in response to a report this afternoon from Mike Casazza of 247Sports that Culver had signed with an agent for the NBA Draft and planned to forego the rest of his college eligibility. Shortly after the report was posted to Twitter, fellow WVU big man Gabe Osabuohien quickly tweeted that it was incorrect.

Not true 😂 https://t.co/axj81mrfIM

— Gabe (@Go22_Lt) April 26, 2021

Culver, a 6-foot-10 forward from Youngstown, Ohio, could have as many as two years of college eligibility remaining because of the NCAA’s blanket eligibility waiver it gave all athletes this season. Culver, widely viewed as an NBA prospect, has not publicly announced his intentions for next season or if he has entered his name into the upcoming NBA draft, although WVU coach Bob Huggins has hinted that he has.

Culver averaged a career-best 14.3 points per game and led the Mountaineers in rebounding, averaging 9.4 per game this season. He tallied 11 double-doubles and was named to the All-Big 12 First Team, two All-District teams and was named an AP All-American honorable mention. Culver also surpassed 1,000 career points this season.

WVU has added a pair of forwards from the transfer portal this offseason, Dimon Carrigan from Florida International and Pauly Paulicap from DePaul. Osabuohien, a senior, has also announced he will use his extra year of eligibility and return to the Mountaineers.