Michigan State basketball: Jesse McCulloch shines in EYBL debut

New Michigan State basketball commit Jesse McCulloch shined in his EYBL debut this week. How did the Spartan pledge fare?

ATLANTA – Jesse McCulloch committed to Michigan State basketball less than a week ago and now he’s in Atlanta playing on the top high school basketball circuit in the country. It’s Session One for the Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL), a league run and funded by Nike.

McCulloch plays AAU for the Indy Heat Gymrats, along with five-star Kanon Catchings (Purdue pledge) and Jalen Haralson, a top 10 prospect in the country according to 247 Sports. The rest of the roster is rounded out by future college basketball players as well, the competition is that steep at EYBL. 

Saturday morning, Indy Heat was in a close game with Kansas City’s Mokan Elite. It was a back-and-forth game and McCulloch played extremely well both offensively and defensively. He was at his best down the stretch.

MSU-commit Jesse McCulloch with a strong start to the game for Indy on both ends of the floor. Hitting perimeter shots and protecting the paint

— OWE Hoops (@owe_hoops) April 22, 2023

It was a tie game in the fourth quarter before McCulloch had a putback dunk to put Indy Heat up two. Then the next possession down he drained a corner three. That gave Indy Heat a five-point lead with just 1:07 left.

Indy Heat would go on to win with a final score of 71-62. McCulloch finished with 13 points and shot 55 percent from the field. Another positive? He nailed three 3-pointers at a 60 percent clip. A 6-foot-9 power forward with a consistent soft touch from deep could do wonders for the offensive spacing at the next level.

McCulloch also tallied eight rebounds, two offensive. He did all of this in 18 minutes of play.

The Michigan State basketball staff has to be pleased with McCulloch’s performance so far this AAU season. The EYBL is the closest he will get to the next level while still in high school. Playing with and against division one players is the best way to prepare him for college. 

If his play so far can translate we could be looking at another Spartan with the knack to make game-winning plays.