Draft Day!
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Here's the write up from the Atheletic on Carter:
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BACKGROUND: Parents are Cassie and Anthony. Anthony Carter was a 13-year NBA veteran who played for six teams and was one of the league’s best backup point guards during his prime. He retired in 2012, immediately went into coaching and is currently an assistant for the Memphis Grizzlies. As the son of an NBA player and coach, Devin Carter moved around during his childhood. He originally attended Cherry Creek High School in Colorado before transferring to Doral Academy in Florida after his father got a job with the Miami Heat. Carter averaged 27 points at Doral, but suffered a shoulder injury that abruptly ended his senior season. He wanted to attend South Carolina, but it didn’t have a scholarship available at the time. He spent a year at Brewster Academy prep school — where he was considered a top-100,
four-star recruit — and signed with the Gamecocks the following season over California, Florida Atlantic, VCU and others. He entered the Gamecocks’ rotation immediately, playing 30 games his first season and averaging nine points. Coach Frank Martin, who played a key role in Carter choosing South Carolina, was fired that spring, spurring Carter to enter the transfer portal. He committed to Providence, where he continued to blossom. He immediately started for then-Friars coach Ed Cooley, averaging 13 points and five rebounds per game while emerging as one of the Big East’s best defenders. Cooley left in 2023 to take the Georgetown job, but Carter stayed put under new coach Kim English. Last season, Carter was the best player in the Big East, winning the conference’s player of the year award while being named a semifinalist for the national defensive player of the year.
STRENGTHS: Carter is of the best athletes in this draft class. He possesses an exceptional combination of explosiveness, lateral fluidity and functional strength. Those traits, along with his motor and toughness, allow him to play much bigger than his listed height. He’s extremely quick and can get up vertically. His developmenttrajectory has been meteoric in part because of his competitiveness and work ethic. He improved his points, rebounds, assists, field goal percentage, 3-point percentage and free-throw percentage every season in college. He also processes the game quickly, with fast reaction times on both ends of the court. On top of that, has great length. Had a 6-8 3/4 wingspan at the combine.
Those attributes translate into Carter being one of this draft’s best “little things” players. He’s a monster rebounder for a guard, regularly skying above traffic to secure contested boards. He constantly dives on the floor and makes second and third efforts to recover on defense or get extra possessions for his team. He is fearless, tough and values the ball.
Carter defends guards as well as you’ll find and has the potential to be among the NBA’s best down the road. He blows up actions on or off the ball. He battles at the point of attack, using his quickness and strength to stay in front of opposing players while also crawling into their space and disrupting their dribbling. He gets overscreens at an elite level, taking appropriate routes to stay in the play. He never stops fighting and has great hands, which means he’s always a factor when recovering.
A lot of offensive players underestimate his speed getting back into plays, leading to a ton of blocked shots. Carter will give up size against bigger wings, but it doesn’t feel that way because they have trouble going through his chest. He can switch across the one through three positions in the NBA and should even be able to match up with many fours.
Carter is the epitome of a defensive playmaker. Despite being 6-2, he blocked more than one shot per game in each of his last two seasons at Providence andaveraged 1.8 steals per contest. On top of his ability to get his hands into an opposing player’s handle, he’s also a tremendous off-ball defender. He’s constantly in the right position, active when helping, excellent at timing his digs into drivers and clever playing cat-and-mouse with them by stunting before recovering to shooters. He’s also a great back-line defender despite his height, effectively bopping back and forth to confuse driving guards. He’s quick and active closing out, covering space quickly and on balance. While he sometimes blocks shots that way, he always navigates the balance of contesting hard or staying on the ground when offensive players try to attack his closeout. He can also face-guard or chase around dangerous shooters because of his skill getting through screens. Offensively, Carter improved every year as a scorer and shooter. His most important skill will be his 3-pointer; while his stroke doesn’t look great, it goes in often enough to believe it will translate to the next level. He drilled 37.7 percent of his nearly seven 3-point attempts per game this season, and many of those were tough
looks due to being at the top of opponent’s scouting reports. He drilled 40.2 percent of his catch-and-shoot 3s and showed some potential to launch off movement, making eight 3s off screens this season. He aligns his lower half well, with great shot prep and a nice rhythm before launching. He has a slight hitch through his motion but gets his body back aligned before releasing. Although running off screens is not his best skill, he’s capable enough to where Providence made that a big part of his offense. He’s good at relocating into passing lanes from his teammates in spot-up situations. Carter was also an effective pull-up scorer, too. He hit 34 percent of his nearly 100 pull-up 3-point attempts, per Synergy, including making 41 percent of his 44 pickand-roll 3-point attempts and 36 percent of his 3s off handoffs. More than half of his 3-point shots came from beyond 25 feet, per Synergy, so he has NBA range. He made those shots at a 36.8-percent clip overall and hit 34 percent of his pull-up 3s from 25 feet and beyond. He doesn’t have much of an in-between game, but he’ll show some floater potential when attacking closeouts or coming off handoffs. He navigates ball screens well, demonstrating the ability to come off the pick patiently and then either keep his man on his hip or explode to the rim. Carter was an elite finisher at the basket last season, unsurprising given his strength and athleticism. He threw down 25 dunks last season, including a few posters, but also made 65.9 percent of his overall shots at the rim, a high number for a guard. He maintains his move through contact and effectively alternates his takeoff and shot release angles to keep rim protectors off-balance. He loves finger rolls, scoop shots and other one-foot finishes, but can also jump stop to load up through contact or pump fake to get a big man in the air. I think Carter’s passing is more of a positive than a negative, so long as he's a secondary ballhandler rather than a primary initiator. He sees and makes the passes that are there. Unlike some guards who only see what’s in front of them, Carter is excellent at finding kickout passes; that strong peripheral vision often translates well to other areas.
WEAKNESSES: He’s not particularly big, at least for his expected NBA role. NBA teams prefer 3-and-D-plus players like Carter to be more in the 6-6 range. It helps that Carter plays bigger than his size, but his height limits the types of lineups his team could construct while using him as a high-end role player. He came into the combine at just 6-2 1/4 without shoes.
Carter is not a creative ballhandler compared to NBA guards. He does a good job maintaining an advantage coming off a screen, but I don’t anticipate him being a regular shot creator in isolations. With his athleticism, there’s a chance he grows into that kind of player, but I wouldn’t bet on it. His first step is solid, but not good enough to regularly blow by his man. While he changes pace well, he’s not shifty, so he will likely need a screen to keep his advantage. He can get loose with the ball. He might be able to play the nominal point guard role next to other outstanding wing shot creators, but I wouldn’t want to rely on him to be a top-two offensive option, especially early in his career.
Carter had some moments when he would over-penetrate and lose control; it’s why his turnover numbers were a bit high at 2.7 per game. The context matters: Carter had to lead Providence’s offense without many creative scoring guards around him, especially after the Friars lost Bryce Hopkins for the season. Providence tasked Carter with creating early shots in transition, and while the strategy was effective enough to help Carter shoot 60 percent in transition despite taking a third of them from 3, he sometimes pushed the issue too much. I also think the absence of a midrange game, outside of the still-developing floater, played a role in Carter’s turnover issues. Because of the hitch in his shot, pull-up midrange jumpers get funky for him. He must continue developing that floater as a counter, and that might
take time. While I believer in Carter’s shooting aptitude, he’s shown just a one-season positive sample. His underlying shooting metrics this season all look good, even at volume, but he is a 22-year-old with a hitchy shot who made less than 30 percent of his 3s in his first two college seasons. Some of his misses last season were ugly; he misses left or right much more frequently than other great shooters in the NBA. I think his willingness to work will iron these mechanical flaws out, but if Carter fails, it’ll likely be because he’s more of a 31-to-33 percent NBA 3-point shooter.
SUMMARY: Carter is one of my favorites in this draft class. His basketball character is off the charts. He’s an unbelievable competitor and possesses an insatiable work ethic that enabled his year-over-year improvements going back to high school. He’s an awesome defender who will be switchable and aggressive at the point of attack across the perimeter; those traits should be even more valuable if the NBA and its officials continue to allow as much physicality as they have since February.He reads the game very well, drastically improved as a shooter and has enough touch to believe he will continue to make long-range attempts even if his motion looks funky. He’s an elite athlete, too, who does all the little things one could ask of a player. I have a lottery grade on him and think he turns into the kind of guy every coach demands their front office pick up in the offseason. "
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BACKGROUND: Parents are Cassie and Anthony. Anthony Carter was a 13-year NBA veteran who played for six teams and was one of the league’s best backup point guards during his prime. He retired in 2012, immediately went into coaching and is currently an assistant for the Memphis Grizzlies. As the son of an NBA player and coach, Devin Carter moved around during his childhood. He originally attended Cherry Creek High School in Colorado before transferring to Doral Academy in Florida after his father got a job with the Miami Heat. Carter averaged 27 points at Doral, but suffered a shoulder injury that abruptly ended his senior season. He wanted to attend South Carolina, but it didn’t have a scholarship available at the time. He spent a year at Brewster Academy prep school — where he was considered a top-100,
four-star recruit — and signed with the Gamecocks the following season over California, Florida Atlantic, VCU and others. He entered the Gamecocks’ rotation immediately, playing 30 games his first season and averaging nine points. Coach Frank Martin, who played a key role in Carter choosing South Carolina, was fired that spring, spurring Carter to enter the transfer portal. He committed to Providence, where he continued to blossom. He immediately started for then-Friars coach Ed Cooley, averaging 13 points and five rebounds per game while emerging as one of the Big East’s best defenders. Cooley left in 2023 to take the Georgetown job, but Carter stayed put under new coach Kim English. Last season, Carter was the best player in the Big East, winning the conference’s player of the year award while being named a semifinalist for the national defensive player of the year.
STRENGTHS: Carter is of the best athletes in this draft class. He possesses an exceptional combination of explosiveness, lateral fluidity and functional strength. Those traits, along with his motor and toughness, allow him to play much bigger than his listed height. He’s extremely quick and can get up vertically. His developmenttrajectory has been meteoric in part because of his competitiveness and work ethic. He improved his points, rebounds, assists, field goal percentage, 3-point percentage and free-throw percentage every season in college. He also processes the game quickly, with fast reaction times on both ends of the court. On top of that, has great length. Had a 6-8 3/4 wingspan at the combine.
Those attributes translate into Carter being one of this draft’s best “little things” players. He’s a monster rebounder for a guard, regularly skying above traffic to secure contested boards. He constantly dives on the floor and makes second and third efforts to recover on defense or get extra possessions for his team. He is fearless, tough and values the ball.
Carter defends guards as well as you’ll find and has the potential to be among the NBA’s best down the road. He blows up actions on or off the ball. He battles at the point of attack, using his quickness and strength to stay in front of opposing players while also crawling into their space and disrupting their dribbling. He gets overscreens at an elite level, taking appropriate routes to stay in the play. He never stops fighting and has great hands, which means he’s always a factor when recovering.
A lot of offensive players underestimate his speed getting back into plays, leading to a ton of blocked shots. Carter will give up size against bigger wings, but it doesn’t feel that way because they have trouble going through his chest. He can switch across the one through three positions in the NBA and should even be able to match up with many fours.
Carter is the epitome of a defensive playmaker. Despite being 6-2, he blocked more than one shot per game in each of his last two seasons at Providence andaveraged 1.8 steals per contest. On top of his ability to get his hands into an opposing player’s handle, he’s also a tremendous off-ball defender. He’s constantly in the right position, active when helping, excellent at timing his digs into drivers and clever playing cat-and-mouse with them by stunting before recovering to shooters. He’s also a great back-line defender despite his height, effectively bopping back and forth to confuse driving guards. He’s quick and active closing out, covering space quickly and on balance. While he sometimes blocks shots that way, he always navigates the balance of contesting hard or staying on the ground when offensive players try to attack his closeout. He can also face-guard or chase around dangerous shooters because of his skill getting through screens. Offensively, Carter improved every year as a scorer and shooter. His most important skill will be his 3-pointer; while his stroke doesn’t look great, it goes in often enough to believe it will translate to the next level. He drilled 37.7 percent of his nearly seven 3-point attempts per game this season, and many of those were tough
looks due to being at the top of opponent’s scouting reports. He drilled 40.2 percent of his catch-and-shoot 3s and showed some potential to launch off movement, making eight 3s off screens this season. He aligns his lower half well, with great shot prep and a nice rhythm before launching. He has a slight hitch through his motion but gets his body back aligned before releasing. Although running off screens is not his best skill, he’s capable enough to where Providence made that a big part of his offense. He’s good at relocating into passing lanes from his teammates in spot-up situations. Carter was also an effective pull-up scorer, too. He hit 34 percent of his nearly 100 pull-up 3-point attempts, per Synergy, including making 41 percent of his 44 pickand-roll 3-point attempts and 36 percent of his 3s off handoffs. More than half of his 3-point shots came from beyond 25 feet, per Synergy, so he has NBA range. He made those shots at a 36.8-percent clip overall and hit 34 percent of his pull-up 3s from 25 feet and beyond. He doesn’t have much of an in-between game, but he’ll show some floater potential when attacking closeouts or coming off handoffs. He navigates ball screens well, demonstrating the ability to come off the pick patiently and then either keep his man on his hip or explode to the rim. Carter was an elite finisher at the basket last season, unsurprising given his strength and athleticism. He threw down 25 dunks last season, including a few posters, but also made 65.9 percent of his overall shots at the rim, a high number for a guard. He maintains his move through contact and effectively alternates his takeoff and shot release angles to keep rim protectors off-balance. He loves finger rolls, scoop shots and other one-foot finishes, but can also jump stop to load up through contact or pump fake to get a big man in the air. I think Carter’s passing is more of a positive than a negative, so long as he's a secondary ballhandler rather than a primary initiator. He sees and makes the passes that are there. Unlike some guards who only see what’s in front of them, Carter is excellent at finding kickout passes; that strong peripheral vision often translates well to other areas.
WEAKNESSES: He’s not particularly big, at least for his expected NBA role. NBA teams prefer 3-and-D-plus players like Carter to be more in the 6-6 range. It helps that Carter plays bigger than his size, but his height limits the types of lineups his team could construct while using him as a high-end role player. He came into the combine at just 6-2 1/4 without shoes.
Carter is not a creative ballhandler compared to NBA guards. He does a good job maintaining an advantage coming off a screen, but I don’t anticipate him being a regular shot creator in isolations. With his athleticism, there’s a chance he grows into that kind of player, but I wouldn’t bet on it. His first step is solid, but not good enough to regularly blow by his man. While he changes pace well, he’s not shifty, so he will likely need a screen to keep his advantage. He can get loose with the ball. He might be able to play the nominal point guard role next to other outstanding wing shot creators, but I wouldn’t want to rely on him to be a top-two offensive option, especially early in his career.
Carter had some moments when he would over-penetrate and lose control; it’s why his turnover numbers were a bit high at 2.7 per game. The context matters: Carter had to lead Providence’s offense without many creative scoring guards around him, especially after the Friars lost Bryce Hopkins for the season. Providence tasked Carter with creating early shots in transition, and while the strategy was effective enough to help Carter shoot 60 percent in transition despite taking a third of them from 3, he sometimes pushed the issue too much. I also think the absence of a midrange game, outside of the still-developing floater, played a role in Carter’s turnover issues. Because of the hitch in his shot, pull-up midrange jumpers get funky for him. He must continue developing that floater as a counter, and that might
take time. While I believer in Carter’s shooting aptitude, he’s shown just a one-season positive sample. His underlying shooting metrics this season all look good, even at volume, but he is a 22-year-old with a hitchy shot who made less than 30 percent of his 3s in his first two college seasons. Some of his misses last season were ugly; he misses left or right much more frequently than other great shooters in the NBA. I think his willingness to work will iron these mechanical flaws out, but if Carter fails, it’ll likely be because he’s more of a 31-to-33 percent NBA 3-point shooter.
SUMMARY: Carter is one of my favorites in this draft class. His basketball character is off the charts. He’s an unbelievable competitor and possesses an insatiable work ethic that enabled his year-over-year improvements going back to high school. He’s an awesome defender who will be switchable and aggressive at the point of attack across the perimeter; those traits should be even more valuable if the NBA and its officials continue to allow as much physicality as they have since February.He reads the game very well, drastically improved as a shooter and has enough touch to believe he will continue to make long-range attempts even if his motion looks funky. He’s an elite athlete, too, who does all the little things one could ask of a player. I have a lottery grade on him and think he turns into the kind of guy every coach demands their front office pick up in the offseason. "