Arizona Wildcats building strong relationship with top 2024 target Carter Bryant

GLENDALE — The official 2024 starting line was Wednesday, the first day college basketball coaches could contact rising high school juniors directly under NCAA rules.

“I think I woke up with about 18 calls and texts,” Carter Bryant said, but one coach more than the others needed no introduction.

That would be Arizona’s Tommy Lloyd, who already hosted the well-regarded Fountain Valley, California forward twice in Tucson last season and last week made Bryant the first class of 2024 player he has offered a scholarship to.

Since arriving at Arizona in April 2021, Lloyd has demonstrated a deliberate and selective recruiting style, rarely dishing out early offers, and recruits such as Bryant have become aware.

“I’m just blessed. I’m grateful for it,” Bryant said Friday, after playing in a Section 7 game at State Farm Stadium. “Because I’m the only (class of) ‘24 player that they offered. I’m grateful that coach Lloyd and his staff trusted me and gave me the opportunity to play for their program.”

Of course, that doesn’t mean Bryant is a given for the Wildcats. This is recruiting, after all.

The versatile and skilled 6-foot-8 forward has also posted that he received offers from UNLV, Illinois and — um — Xavier, where former UA coach Sean Miller is also in the mix.

Bryant said he’s planning to visit UCLA and USC later this month and, if that wasn’t enough of an indication he is considering other options, there’s also the fact that he laughed off a suggestion on social media from former UA guard Dalen Terry to “just commit now” after Bryant posted news of his UA offer.

“Oh yeah, he’s a clown,” Bryant said of Terry, smiling. “That’s my guy.”

But the mutual interest between Bryant and Arizona is no joke. Bryant said he began speaking with Arizona a year ago through former UA assistant Jason Terry, who transitioned briefly from Miller’s staff to Lloyd’s before becoming a G League head coach, then said he quickly felt a strong interest from Lloyd’s staff.

Bryant also has UA roots of a sort pulling at him. Despite growing up in Southern California, Bryant said did not really follow the Bruins or Trojans much but he was actually kind of a Wildcats fan, being the nephew of former UA volleyball player Shaquilla Torres.

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“I just grew up on that campus,” Bryant said of UA. “And my uncle went to Pepperdine so I didn’t really view any big schools, but the ones I knew the most were Arizona and Pepperdine.”

As a result, Carter kept an eye on the Wildcats’ basketball players. He said he loved watching Aaron Gordon play for UA in 2013-14 and has watched Terry play since he was “7, 8 years old.”

“It’s crazy to see him grow up and now he’s gonna be a first-round pick,” Bryant said.

Bryant does have other family and geographic ties that could pull him in another direction, however. While one uncle played volleyball Pepperdine, another uncle played basketball at Missouri, while his father played basketball for Long Beach State.

Then there’s those two Pac-12 schools up the freeway who are trying to move in. Bryant said UCLA coaches have told him how much they like his game, while USC staff is selling him on their track record of developing versatile big wings and forwards, such as the Mobley brothers and Drew Peterson.

“They’ve had a lot of guys that are tall ball-handlers and guys that can do everything on the floor,” Bryant said. “So their pitch has kind of just been, ‘We’ve had guys that can do everything. So we’d love to have you and give you that opportunity.’”

With Arizona, Bryant said, “there was no pitch” as much as a relationship that was being offered.

Both sides know each other already. So it was no surprise Friday that not only was Lloyd on hand to watch him but also the entire UA coaching staff minus assistant coach Riccardo Fois, who has left to work with the Italian national team this summer.

“It’s gonna be like home. They don’t sugarcoat anything,” Bryant said of Lloyd’s staff. “They’re gonna straight-shoot you. if you play terrible, they’re gonna tell you you play terrible.

“It’s not going to be a thing where it’s like, ‘Oh, I’m gonna tell you this and that so we get you here.’ They’re gonna give you the straight shot. So that’s probably been their recruiting pitch, if any.”