Arizona Wildcats Forward Projected as First Round Pick in Latest Mock Draft
The Arizona Wildcats are no strangers to having their basketball talent suiting up for NBA teams shortly after making a name for themselves at the collegiate level.
With the amount of talent that the Wildcats currently have on their roster, many of them could do just that sooner rather than later.
Now that the season is underway, everyone will now get better looks at each and every one of the potential NBA draft candidates, especially as the competition ramps up down the stretch through conference play and, potentially, the NCAA Tournament.
Freshman forward Carter Bryant has been highly touted throughout his basketball career, first as a high school recruit, and now at the collegiate level, and he is expected to be yet another in a long line of one-and-done talent the college level has seen.
Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report released their latest NBA Mock Draft earlier this week and has Bryant being selected in the first round with the 22nd pick, currently held by the Oklahoma City Thunder via the Miami Heat.
"There are a lot of mouths to feed at Arizona, so Carter Bryant's production may fluctuate. However, he's going to create draft buzz with eye-test results on 6'8" size, smooth perimeter scoring and athletic finishing around the rim," writes Wasserman, "consistency and decision-making will determine how big of a role he plays this season, but he has clear NBA tools with a body and skill set that fit an enticing big wing or combo-forward archetype."
It has been the smallest of sample sizes so far, with Bryant and Arizona only having one game so far, but in that game, against the Canisius Golden Griffins from the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, Bryant went 2-for-5 from the floor, 0-for-3 from beyond the arc, 2-for-3 from the charity stripe, and added one rebound and one steal in 16 minutes of work that was truncated by foul trouble.
Per 247 Sports, Bryant was a four-star recruit from Centennial High School in Corona, California, and ranked as the 28th-best recruit in the nation, the fifth-best power forward, and the second-best recruit from California.
The forward still has a long way to go to live up to that high praise, and his first outing was nothing to write home about.
Under head coach Tommy Lloyd, Bryant should see the improvement in his game throughout this season that could in fact land him in the first round of the NBA draft.
