NBA Draft: Where Will Arizona's Carter Bryant be Drafted?

Arizona forward Carter Bryant is a prospect that had a decent amount of buzz coming into college, a borderline five-star/high four-star recruit according to On3 in the last recruiting cycle.

The Wildcats freshman is averaging 6.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game and shooting 48% from the field. Bryant's biggest attribute is his athleticism, and, combined with his 6-foot-8, 220-pound frame, he takes advantage of this by being extremely physical.

Playing the four usually with occasional stints at the three, Bryant is a player that has demonstrated a significant amount of potential throughout his initial campaign, but has yet to be a consistent force, playing just 18 minutes per game. Where he is most efficient is on spot-up attempts, where he ranks in the 60th percentile, hitting 21 of 60 attempts on such shots from beyond the arc.

The issue with his shooting numbers is that he struggles mightily from the stripe, where he shoots just 63%. This is concerning, as free-throw percentage is typically a very effective tool to project long-range shooting in the NBA.

Another issue with Bryant is that he's not as efficient as one would hope in transition, where his athleticism should allow him to shine. He is in the 43rd percentile in this area of his game, averaging 1.000 points per possession with an effective field goal rate of 59.5%.

It's also a bit surprising that he does not get into the break more considering his ability to run the floor and act as a play finisher in some instances. He is a good cutter, however, and has an effective field goal rate of 70% on such plays at 1.154 points per possession.

One thing that does stand out about Bryant however is that he is occasionally trusted to run the pick-and-roll as the ball handler, which he does at a higher rate than most would expect. Though he averages just 0.789 points per possession in this sets, it is a sign of his versatility that he is in position to run these plays at all. The issue, of course, comes when you see that he has a 31% turnover rate in these sets, meaning he turns the ball over nearly a third of the time he is asked to be the lead initiator in the PNR. It's unlikely NBA fans see him perform this function at all when he arrives as a rookie.

As a prospect, Bryant is very flawed in a lot of areas. He has a set of outcomes that range from Austin Daye to Aaron Gordon, but is, at this point, closer to the Daye side of things. While his athleticism and size will certainly turn heads, his overall skillset is not quite there yet, and he will be a bit of a project when taken in the 2025 NBA Draft.

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