Bub Carrington 2024 NBA Draft Profile
We are nearly one week away from the 2024 NBA Draft. Today, we are continuing with Pittsburgh guard Carlton “Bub” Carrington, who’s one of the youngest players in this year’s class! What does his draft profile look like? Let’s examine!
Height: 6’3.25″ (6’8 wingspan, 8’3 standing reach)
Weight: 194.8 lbs
Draft age: 18.9
Position: Guard
Carrington was a top-100 prospect in the 2023 recruiting class out of St. Frances Academy, located in Baltimore, MD, according to 247Sports. He was the No. 2 player in the state of Maryland–behind only Amani Hansberry. He chose Pittsburgh over DePaul, George Mason, George Washington, LSU and Rutgers, among other programs.
Carrington was one of the primary focal points of Pittsburgh’s offense alongside Blake Hinson and Ishmael Leggett. He averaged 13.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.1 assists on 41.2 percent shooting and 53.0 percent true shooting. He earned All-ACC Freshman Team honors and was a part of the All-ACC Tournament team after scoring 24 points on 9-of-17 shooting (4-8 3PT) against North Carolina.
Let’s dive into some of his strengths and weaknesses, shall we?
Strengths:
Carrington projects more as a combo guard than an actual point guard.
He was a remarkable pull-up jump shooter at Pittsburgh. He converted on 50.0 percent of his non-rim 2s, according to Barttorvik, which is an absurd percentage for a guard as a freshman. He was a remarkably comfortable, confident pull-up threat inside of 15-20 feet.
In the pick-and-roll, Carrington did an excellent job utilizing the snake dribble and hostage dribble to keep defenders on his hip and create separation. He’s a bigger guard with a high release point, making it easier to rise up over opposing defenders. Carrington shot like he’s never seen a defender in his life. His frame is on the thin-ner side of the scale, but he did a good job playing through contact when he needed to in the lane.
His on-ball comfort really stood out to me. Even though I think he’s more of a combo guard, Carrington read tag defenders well and made the proper passes in the pick-and-roll. He had excellent body control when navigating tight quarters and when he rose up off-the-bounce.
The combo guard also showed flashes defensively, though it may be difficult to project how he defends at the next level before he fills out his body. When Carrington was locked in, he had enough length and fluid movement (laterally) to hold his own against other guards.
Weaknesses:
While he was a fluid jump shooter, Carrington occasionally struggled around the rim. He was more reliant on his pull-up jumper than finishing through defenders, which could be a byproduct of his strength–or lack thereof–and experience.
He shot 55.5 percent at the rim, though he took only 13.9 percent of his shot attempts in that area–a very low percentage.
I wonder how his jump-shooting efficiency carries over to the NBA level too. He was very comfortable, but he shot just 32.2 percent from 3-point range and it’s difficult to see his 50+ percent on non-rim 2s immediately translate to the next level against NBA athletes.
He shot 78.5 percent from the free-throw line, albeit on 2.8 attempts. His mechanics were pretty solid, so the percentages could rise with a more efficient shot diet–should he play in a more secondary creation role.
Carrington will also need to show more consistent flashes defensively. A part of that is bulking up, which I trust will occur over time. He has a competitive, fearless mindset and has good size. But in today’s day and age, you need to play both sides of the ball.
Projection: Mid First Round Pick
Carrington is one of the youngest guards in this class. He’s got plenty of on-ball upside at the next level and showed plenty of good flashes as a primary/secondary shot creator. It may take him time to adjust to the NBA game. Though if he falls in the right spot, I think he can be a very good offensive guard and potentially a league-average defender.
***
Subscribe to Vendetta’s Twitch
Subscribe to Vendetta’s YouTube
Check out the Vendetta Shop
Click here for more NBA content
