It sounds like the potential to extend his range is something that Chicago Bulls center Wendell Carter Jr. is working on in Training Camp.
There’s a lot to be excited about with the Chicago Bulls getting group workouts underway in Training Camp this week. Newly hired head coach Billy Donovan and executive vice president of basketball operations get to start to put their new roster to work in the Windy City. Although there weren’t a whole lot of changes made to the roster construction compared to the way it looked last season.
Individual player workouts in Training Camp around the NBA began last week, specifically back on Dec. 1. And the Bulls have since been able to get together as a team in the Advocate Center to begin group workouts and drills in camp.
One specific player that made some headlines on since the beginning of Training Camp last week is the third-year former Duke Blue Devils center Wendell Carter Jr. WCJ’s teammate, second-year former North Carolina Tar Heels point guard Coby White, had a lot of positive things to say about the big man when it came time to talk to the press on Dec. 7.
Coby White said Wendell Carter Jr. has been shooting 3s "really well" at camp. Said he'll get chance to handle, make reads and shoot more this year
— Rob Schaefer (@rob_schaef) December 7, 2020
"He's gonna get to show a lot more versatility... Everyone's going to see a way different Wendell and it's gonna be better for us."
White reportedly stated that WCJ is shooting 3’s “really well” from what he’s seen so far. Here’s more on what White had to say on the matter.
"Coby White said Wendell Carter Jr. has been shooting 3s “really well” at camp. Said he’ll get chance to handle, make reads and shoot more this year “He’s gonna get to show a lot more versatility… Everyone’s going to see a way different Wendell and it’s gonna be better for us.”"
If WCJ is in fact extending his shooting range this season, then the Donovan hire and the overall development of his game could work wonders in his third year in the NBA. WCJ has a solid fundamental shooting stroke and did improve his range a bit over his first two years in the league.
He really improved his shooting percentage from his first to second year in the NBA from 10-16 feet from the rim. He went from shooting 37.7 percent from that range, to 51.5 percent, in his first two seasons in the league. And his three-point shooting percentage went from 18.7 to 20.7 from beyond the arc in his first two seasons.
Is the 2020-21 season the one where WCJ finally starts to round out his offensive game to become a modern quality starting big man?
As a whole, WCJ played in 43 games during the shortened 2019-20 regular season with the Bulls (all of which he started in). And he averaged 11.3 points per game, 9.4 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.8 blocks.