French Forward Martin Carrere Rounds Out UVA Hoops Transfer Class

The European guard comes to Charlottesville after redshirting at VCU this past season

Martin Carrere/IG

The last player we will focus on for this year's basketball transfer class is French forward Martin Carrere. According to 247Sports, the 19-year-old is ranked the 452nd-best transfer and the 75th-best small forward of the current class. Carrere does not have any experience at the college level, but has room to develop as a hooper with the Hoos.

Let's take a look at the freshman will fit into the all-new group hitting the hardwood for UVA this season.

European Career

Carrere did not register a single minute while enrolled at Virginia Commonwealth University after the program opted to redshirt the European during his freshman season. The only real experience to go off of is Carrere's career playing club hoops in Europe or when he represented France on the 18U team.

According to RealGM, the 6'9" forward averaged over 6.5 points and two rebounds, while shooting 41% from three as a 17-year-old during the 2024 U18 FIBA EuroBasket tournament. In the same year, Carrere also played with Next Generation Team Paris in the Adidas Next Generation Paris Tournament, where he averaged almost eight points, 3.5 rebounds, and three assists. Carrere also connected on nearly 40% of his three-point attempts in over 22 minutes per game, helping lead his team to a tournament championship in the process.

Back in 2023, Carrere suited up for Espoirs Limoges of the LNB Espoirs as a 16-year-old. In 30 games, the forward scored five points per game in 12.5 minutes of work per contest. Once again, Carrere lit up the scoreboard from beyond the arc, shooting almost 39% from three in limited minutes.

Playstyle: Sharpshooter/Stretch

Apr 18, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Georges Niang (20) reacts after making a three point shot against the Miami Heat during the second half at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

At a long 6'9" and with a smooth shooting touch, Carrere is a stretch four in the making. He has the sharpshooting capabilities down, but he still needs to fill out his frame to reach his full potential as a dangerous scoring option. At just 180 lbs, Carrere's body needs to bulk up so he does not get pushed around by other power forwards when he fully develops into a four.

A current NBA player that matches up well with Carrere's measurements and skillset would be Utah Jazz Georges Niang. The 2016 first-round pick took some time to develop into his body and role in the NBA after a few quiet years in Indiana and a first stint in Utah, but his three-point shooting was always there. Both players rely way more heavily on their fundamentals/specialty skills as ball players than on pure athleticism. These types of players have longer shelf lives because their athleticism starts to slip later in their careers.

A big difference in this comparison is that Niang is much more stocky for his height. Right now, Niang has about 45-50 lbs on Carrere, but he is also 14 years older. Carrere has time to fill out his frame, and even if he does not get up to the stocky weight of a player like Niang, putting on more muscle and weight is just going to help him develop into a valuable option at the four for the Cavaliers over the next few years, if he decides to stay in Charlottesville long-term.