If Arizona’s Carter Bryant winds up a lottery pick in the June NBA Draft, he might owe a few assists to the folks back at McKale Center.
One of the lowest-used players in 2024-25 among NBA first-round prospects, Bryant has nevertheless intrigued NBA scouts with his 3-and-D potential, in part because his 3-point shooting rose from 26.9% in nonconference play to 38.6% in Big 12 play – and to 45.5% between the Big 12 and NCAA tournaments.
Wildcats forward Carter Bryant jumps to block Golden Griffins guard Paul McMillan IV's shot during the season opening game at McKale Center, Nov. 4, 2024.
So when asked about his shooting improvement during a media interview at the NBA Combine in Chicago, Bryant already started dishing out thanks.
“I spent a lot of time with (assistant coaches) TJ Benson and Rem Bakamus,” Bryant said. “They did a great job of kind of speeding up my shot, allowing me to get my feet down. I got a lot more comfortable on shooting off the move shots and off the dribble shots.
“I think we saw as the season progressed, I made a lot of big-time shots. I think that’s just a testament to my work, my coaching staff and the belief that the coaching staff had in me.”
Bryant said the goal was to improve consistency, that speeding up his footwork allowed him to get his hands and feet comfortably underneath him so he could have a more fluid jump shot.
When asked when those motions finally felt natural, Bryant shouted out a UA manager.
“I feel like I’ve always had a natural feeling to shoot the ball, but the consistency came probably towards the middle of the season, in conference play,” Bryant said. “I was coming in three times a day. The last part of the day was all shot prep stuff.
“Coleman Chennault, one of our managers, did a great job. Props to him. I was coming in every night. He was coming with me two hours. First hour we were touching the 3-point line, and then the second hour we were kind of just getting to my rhythm stuff, allowing myself to make shots.”
Bryant didn’t play in the NBA Combine five-on-five scrimmages, which nearly all first-round prospects sit out, but he made 46.0% of his 3-point shots in combine drills.
He also flashed upside throughout the combine drills and measurements: Bryant recorded the fourth-highest maximum (running) vertical leap, 39.5 inches, and checked in with the prototypical frame of a standout NBA wing: 6-6.5 and 214.8 pounds, with a 6-11.75 wingspan.
While all that testing was going on, Bryant’s stock continued to rise up NBA Draft boards to the point where it was zero surprise when Bryant said during his media interview session that he was “completely in” the draft, though he did not expressly rule out a return to Arizona. (He has until May 28 to withdraw in the unlikely event that he wants to).
“Bryant is the guy in this class who seems to have a ton of juice when you talk to front offices,” wrote The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie, pegging Bryant’s draft range between No. 7 and No. 16.
In a consensus mock draft that NBA.com updated during the combine, Bryant was listed at No. 12, with a notation that while Bryant’s defense is there, the “low usage leaves many questions about his offensive profile.”
The combine is scheduled to formally wind up Sunday, but Bryant has another five weeks to try to answer those questions as the predraft process leads up to the June 25 NBA Draft.
More workouts, more drills, more interviews with team executives.
“It’s been amazing,” Bryant said. “I’m a kid that just dreamed of being in this position. If you just told 8-year-old Carter that he would be in this position, he’s ecstatic.
“I kind of just try not to put too much stress and pressure on myself. I’m not gonna act like I don’t have any nerves. But the first (team interview) meeting I went in, I remember my voice felt kind of shaky — not a lack of confidence thing, but it’s almost like, ‘Wow, you’re really here kid, this is the moment that you’ve been dreaming of.’”
