Carter Bryant is going to be just fine.
His people got him.
It’s 2007, and then-Riverside King High assistant coach D’Cean Bryant is in the gym working out his younger brother, Travon – a former McDonald’s All-American in 2000 who was playing professionally in Europe.
The plan was simple: D’Cean, a new father at the time, would put his toddler down for a nap, then get to work.
The naps didn’t always last.
“This happened several times,” D’Cean remembers. “We’re in the gym, mid-workout, and here comes this kid crawling onto the court. It’s Carter.”
He never left the basketball court after that.
Carter’s roots were planted in Los Angeles long before he was born.
Now, the 19-year-old from Riverside is expected to hear his name called during the first round of the NBA draft on Wednesday night. His college numbers at Arizona – 6.5 points per game off the bench – don’t tell the full story. They never could.
The former Wildcat’s foundation runs deeper than box scores. Deeper than even he fully understands.
It stretches beyond his 6-foot-8 frame, 7-foot wingspan, and nearly 40-inch vertical leap. His network – a true who’s who of basketball royalty – has followed him his entire life.
“Carter has a wealth of knowledge,” D’Cean said. “There are so many people who’ve watched him grow up that are in big-time positions right now. People Carter doesn’t even know.”
Carter was born on Nov. 26, 2005, to Sabrina Torres and D’Cean Bryant. Basketball was never forced on him; it didn’t have to be.
D’Cean, a Long Beach State alum, was part of the original Compton Magic AAU team. Travon, Carter’s uncle, played at Missouri under now-Atlanta Hawks coach Quin Snyder, before heading overseas.
Start keeping track of the big names.
Torres, Carter’s mother, worked as a sign language interpreter. Her father, Mike “Doc” Torres, is a USA Deaf Basketball Hall of Famer.
As D’Cean’s coaching career took him through King, Orange Lutheran, and Fountain Valley, Carter was in the gym, watching many of the region’s brightest young stars in their formative years, seeing the work behind the success.
Future NBA names like UCLA’s T.J. Leaf and Ike Anigbogu trained with his dad. Tony Snell, an 11-year NBA veteran, played under him at King.
Then there was Snell’s high school teammate, a relentless forward from San Diego State who showed up on the Bryant family’s doorstep just three days after a Sweet 16 loss to UConn in the 2011 NCAA Tournament, asking for gym keys. The same future NBA Hall-of-Famer who, even he had been told he wasn’t up to standard yet just a few years earlier.
“He saw Kawhi Leonard be told he wasn’t good enough,” D’Cean said. “He saw us working. That’s where a lot of his influence comes from.”
Carter absorbed the mindset early. His drive became relentless, so much so that his father sometimes had to take his shoes away just to get him to stop. He would keep working on the side courts.
Barefoot.
“He’s not afraid of the gym,” said Josh Giles, Carter’s high school coach at Centennial. “He’s not afraid of the hours.”
Growing up, the Bryants made regular escapades to Tucson to watch his aunt, from his mother’s side, play volleyball for Arizona. The school was love at first sight, and Carter Bryant always knew where his future lay.
The first three years of high school under his father, with stops at Fountain Valley and then Sage Hill, molded him. That and a 7-inch growth spurt led to a junior season when he averaged 22.1 points, 13.7 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 2.9 blocked shots and 1.6 steals per game.
By his senior year, he transferred to Centennial – a powerhouse that produced 2024 first-round pick Jared McCain and Division I guards Kylan Boswell (Illinois) and Donovan Dent (UCLA).
But Bryant was something different entirely.
“His God-givens are unbelievable,” Giles said. “To be that big, that strong, that athletic, it’s crazy. Of everybody we’ve had, you can’t compare his potential to anyone else.”
A 39-point, 11-rebound performance against rival Roosevelt only confirmed it.
“It’s probably the single greatest individual game anybody I’ve ever coached has had,” Giles said.
Carter was following the same blueprint he’d watched growing up. Now he had finally reached that same level.
It’s summer 2024 inside the Anaheim Convention Center, with SVCA (Southern California Volleyball) play underway. D’Cean leans against a wall, watching his daughters, Cydnee and Carsyn, play. Carter is beside him, fresh off a McDonald’s All-American season and weeks from starting his one-and-done year at Arizona.
To D’Cean’s left stands a tall, unmistakable figure. Facial recognition wasn’t needed; the intensity gives him away. Kevin Garnett, Basketball Hall of Famer and former NBA MVP, is watching his daughter, Kapri, play against the Bryants.
It wasn’t the first time their paths crossed.
“Yo, KG,” D’Cean says. “What’s going on, man? Nice to meet you, brother.”
“What’s going on, Lord?” Garnett offers back, with his unmistakable energy.
“We were in the same class of ’95, you played with K-Swiss,” D’Cean recalls of his days on the legendary L.A. AAU team, the same one that introduced a young Garnett to future Boston Celtics teammate Paul Pierce.
“Wait, really?” Garnett asks, now remembering.
“Yeah, we were in Vegas playing video games,” D’Cean says.
“Oh, word! Yo!” Garnett laughs, piecing it together.
The talk turns to the next generation of hoopers. Kids like Carter. D’Cean introduces his son, now another member of the McDonald’s All-American fraternity Garnett once joined.
D’Cean remembers Garnett stepping in close, imparting lessons to the future draftee in only the way he knows how. Sweat was dripping down his face. Afterward, he turned back to his former AAU teammate.
“I ain’t got that intense in a minute,” Garnett said. “That young fella ain’t blink. He was looking through my soul. Yeah, you got one.”
Now, it’s all come full circle.
Bryant is ready to hear his name called in Brooklyn on Wednesday, ready to walk the same path so many before him paved. His network, his mentors, stretch across the basketball world.
From Garnett and Pierce to Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, who were both personally trained by Travon. To Damon Stoudamire and Chauncey Billups to Phil Jackson, who once coached Carter’s grandfather in Puerto Rico.
The list runs deep. The support system is nearly impenetrable.
“He’s got people damn near every city he can call,” D’Cean said. “Mentors who’ll have dinner with him. People who’ll check in.”
Carter Bryant’s people got him.
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