re: Jalen Carter’s character issues

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Character is a loaded word that probably shouldn’t be thrown around lightly, and there isn’t information available to justify attaching that to Carter. Is he on the quiet side? Yes. And sometimes that can be mistaken for not having enough drive. The results on the field this year show otherwise, especially Carter returning three weeks after spraining his MCL. There was the incident before the Missouri game, which Smart called Carter out for, but when you say “character” concerns that’s a broad term that people usually take to mean more than just getting into it with opposing players. You’ve also seen teammates like Ryland Goede and Jackson Meeks come out and defend Carter.

I went to Dane Brugler, The Athletic’s draft expert, and he said the only maturity concerns he’s heard about Carter from scouts are along the lines of “needs to learn how to be a pro.” But not along the lines of a problem or anything that would make teams avoid Carter. All the feedback Brugler is getting is Carter is still a top-5 guy.

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