Arizona forward Carter Bryant thanked Wildcats' assistant coach Jack Murphy for speaking into existence the NBA Draft Green Room invite he received to attend with his family. Bryant reposted a social media post from Jonathan Givony of ESPN announcing his invite on Tuesday.
Bryant is projected anywhere from the end of the lottery to the middle of the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft. Givony and his ESPN colleague Jeremy Woo project Bryant to be selected 14th in the 2025 NBA Draft. Gary Parrish of CBS Sports has Bryant 10th to the Houston Rockets in his NBA Draft 6.0 published Monday.
Murphy is in his second stint with Arizona. Previously Murphy was a team manager, recruiting coordinator, administrative assistant, video coordinator and director of operations from 1998 through 2006 under Lute Olson. Murphy was the head coach at Northern Arizona from 2012 through 2019.
Bryant was invited to the NBA Draft Green Room with Cooper Flagg, Dylan Harper, Ace Bailey, VJ Edgecombe, Tre Johnson, Khaman Maluach, Jeremiah Fears, Kon Knueppel, Kasparas Jakucionis, Egor Demi Derik Queen and Asa Newell in the first group of invites sent on Tuesday.
Coach Murph always spoke it into existence! https://t.co/6ZdOJI2a7F
— carter bryant (@carterdbryant) June 10, 2025
Bryant is expected to be the only Arizona player selected in the 2025 NBA Draft first round. Guard Caleb Love participated in the G-League Elite Camp but was not invited to the NBA Combine. Bryant will be the first Arizona player selected since Bennedict Mathurin and Dalen Terry in 2022.
Eleven more players are expected to earn NBA Draft invites "to be sent out in waves" per ESPN. Players are allowed to have up to six family members sit with them at the NBA Draft. Per ESPN, NBA teams vote on the first 25 players they expect to be selected in the draft and that is considered when sending out green room invites.
Being invited does not guarantee that a player will be selected in the first round, but it is a strong indicator that a player is expected to be drafted in the first 30 selections. The stock for Bryant increased during the NCAA Tournament and at the NBA Combine in Chicago last month.