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Chennedy Carter: 5’7, G, Texas A&M University

College Stats in 2019-20:

23 games, 30.8 MPG, 21.3 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 3.5 APG, 1.7 SPG, 0.2 BPG, 45.2 FG%, 25.3 3P%, 72.9 FT%

Where she’ll go:

Carter will likely be the second point guard selected in the 2020 WNBA draft and could go as high as the No. 4 overall pick.

The Rundown:

Carter is a draft-eligible junior who has yet to officially declare she will forgo her senior season at Texas A&M to enter the draft. The cancelation of the 2020 men’s and women’s college basketball tournaments may impact the futures of the class of 2021, but there’s a clear need for players like Carter in the league.

Carter has averaged over 20 points per game in all three seasons of her college career and has built a resume of being one of the toughest one-on-one covers in the nation.

The 5’7 guard can beat her opponents on the drive by tapping into her unmatched speed or by crossing up a defender, giving her enough room to pop a 3-pointer at a moment’s notice. We saw this in the 2019 NCAAW Tournament when Carter and former Notre Dame star Arike Ogunbowale went head to head and combined for 69 total points in A&M’s Sweet 16 loss to the Fighting Irish. Carter recorded a then-career-high 35 points after shooting 7-for-12 from the 3-point line.

Unfortunately, there is an argument to be made that last year’s Sweet 16 loss was the peak of Carter’s college career.

After outscoring Ogunbowale, Carter returned for her junior season in which she suffered a sidelining ankle injury, averaged a career-low in points per game, shot a career-worst 25.3% from beyond the arc, and averaged a career-low of 4.6 free-throw attempts per game.

A&M was defeated by Arkansas in the first round of the 2020 SEC Tournament and concluded its season on a three-game losing streak. Making a run with her team in the NCAAW Tournament may have boosted Carter’s draft stock, but there’s still plenty to like about what she has to offer interested WNBA teams.

Take the Atlanta Dream who own the No. 4 overall pick in the upcoming draft, for example. The Dream are looking to rebuild after recording the worst record in the league in 2019 and losing former franchise player Angel McCoughtry in free agency. The Dream were able to snag shooting guard Courtney Williams from Connecticut in the recent free agency period, but if Carter is able to bring her outside shooting back to what it once was, a young team like the Dream might consider making her a centerpiece of their backcourt.

But if Carter wants to solidify a long-term career in the pros, she’ll need to add a sense of urgency to her defensive game, too. Far too often is she scoring on one end of the court only to give up a bucket on the other. If she wants to shine against the best players, she’ll have to find more ways to impact the game other than scoring.

Chennedy Carter Has A Shot, She Just Has To Bring It Back