Baltimore’s Carlton “Bub” Carrington’s NBA dreams are about to come true. The St. Frances Academy graduate who played his freshman year at Pitt last season is a projected first-round pick in tonight’s NBA draft.
His rise has been meteoric: The guard went from the 91st-ranked recruit by 247 Sports in the country to a top-20 NBA prospect.
Experts predict that Carrington could be chosen anywhere from the 10th pick to the 23rd at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Yahoo Sports projects the Oklahoma City Thunder will select him with the 12th pick, as does USA TODAY’s For The Win. The Ringer predicts the Orlando Magic will choose Carrington at No. 18.
Nick Myles, the athletic director and boys basketball coach at St. Frances, wasn’t surprised that Carrington declared for the draft early.
“He’s got a dynamic work ethic,” Myles said. “He’s a very hard worker, and he just focuses on his goals and stays in the gym.”
Myles will attend the draft with Carrington. While several successful NFL players and WNBA star Angel Reese all graduated from St. Frances, Carrington will be the first St. Frances alumnus drafted by an NBA team since Mark Karcher in 2000.
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Carrington took on the role of starting point guard for Pitt and burst onto the national scene in his very first college game with 18-point, 12-rebound, 10-assists triple-double against North Carolina A&T. He averaged 13.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game on the season.
At 6-foot-4, Carrington is a big guard known for his speed and his skill running pick-and-roll plays. His NBA prospect profile said the guard has “poise beyond his years,” a crucial trait for a young point guard.
“The one thing about basketball is it’s a team sport,” Myles said. “Bub has that kind of energy that he lights up the room. Guys love playing with him and playing for him.”
On top of that, Myles believes that his work ethic, versatility and high basketball IQ will also translate to the next level.
As a high school senior at St. Frances, Carrington was an “elite” scorer, Myles said. He finished his senior season with 1,000 points, the first player in program history to do so.
He wrapped up his high school career by winning the MIAA A Conference Championship, scoring all six of St Frances’ final points in overtime to beat Mount Saint Joseph 78-75.
“The way he just took over that game and helped lead his team to a championship was just phenomenal,” Myles said.
Myles doesn’t have a particular team that he hopes will choose his former player. He hopes that Carrington lands with a team where he’ll be able to play early on and be mentored by some of the league’s veterans.
At just 18 years old, Carrington is the second-youngest player available in this year’s draft class. With the skillset he already has, the Baltimore native has a lot of potential, but he’ll be looking for the mentorship from older players as he continues to develop.
Cam Spencer a likely day-two pick
Former Boys’ Latin and Loyola University Maryland star Cam Spencer, who won a national title with UConn this year, is expected to be a late second-round pick on Thursday (the draft is spread over two nights this year). For The Win has him going 50th to the Indiana Pacers.
Spencer, from Davidsonville, is a 6-foot-4 guard who could find a role in the NBA as a spot-up shooter. He hit 44% of his three-point attempts last season.
His brother Pat, who won the Tewaaraton Award as the country’s best lacrosse player with Loyola, is a member of the Golden State Warriors organization. He pursued basketball after finishing his lacrosse career and made his NBA debut this year.
