Expectations are fairly high for Minnesota Timberwolves swingman Jarrett Culver after being selected with the sixth overall pick of the NBA Draft back in June. Fortunately for him, he has been having a great time with Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins:

“It’s been great interacting with (Towns and Wiggins),” Culver said, according to Max Hengst of the Daily Toreador. “They’re great people, great players, so I’m just making sure I learn from them. They’ve been there, they’ve been to that level, so making sure I learn everything I can. It’s going to be a great season.”

Culver is coming off a spectacular sophomore season at Texas Tech in which he averaged 18.5 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.5 steals over 32.5 minutes per game while shooting 46.1 percent from the floor, 30.4 percent from 3-point range and 70.7 percent from the free-throw line, en route to leading the Red Raiders to a rare appearance in the title game.

But the NBA is obviously very different from the NCAA, and Culver feels lucky to have Towns, Wiggins and his other Timberwolves teammates helping prepare him for the rigors of the pros:

“They’re great players,” Culver said regarding the teammates he is surrounded by in Minnesota. “When you have great players on the court, it helps you out a lot. Just like in college I had a lot of great players around me, in the NBA I have a lot of great players so I’m excited about it.”

Minnesota won 36 games this past season and has made just one playoff appearance since 2004, so Culver may end up being a pivotal piece in taking the Timberwolves to the next level.