Despite not finding much playing time as a true freshman last season, Tennessee guard Cam Carr has found himself with some NBA Draft chatter. NBADraft.net has now put out two separate mock drafts with Carr going No. 7 overall and No. 8 overall — a somewhat head-scratching projection.

However, there might be something to that hype. Check out what analyst Aran Smith said about Carr in his latest projection.

Following a freshman season in which he played limited minutes, in just 14 games, and averaged less than 2 points, you won’t find Carr’s name being mentioned in many first round mock drafts. But expect that to change as the season gets underway. Carr lit it up at the Jayson Tatum Elite Camp in early July and oozes potential with his huge wingspan, explosiveness and body control, plus outside shooting potential. He also shows a lot of potential to break opponents down off the dribble, in isolation, with a strong handle and explosive first step, it’s an ambitious comp, but there’s some Kobe to his game, just a little.

Carr has heard the noise and so has the Tennessee staff. Vols’ assistant Rod Clark addressed the chatter on Tuesday with the media.

“I don’t think Cam necessarily just completely locks in on the whole lottery pick thing,” Clark said. “I think it’s kind of interesting people are saying he’s a lottery pick and they haven’t seen him. But I think that that contributes to his body, his physicals.

“I think people obviously saw him at Pro Day last year. He had a really good outing and Cam works really hard on his game and has a chance to play at the next level. And I think for him it’s trying to create a part for him. It’s not a matter of if he will, it’s kind of when? And I think it goes with his development pattern.”

Carr joined Tennessee as a four-star prospect. On3 ranked Carr as the 57th overall player in the class. As a true freshman, Carr only appeared in 14 games — which makes his draft hype seem pretty lofty at this point in the game. His best appearance came against Vanderbilt back in February, where he scored eight points and shot 2-4 from three-point range.

“This summer, he’s worked extremely hard,” Clark continued. “He’s been in the gym a ton, he’s gotten a lot better. He has gotten his body probably bigger, stronger, more aggressive. He’s gotten even more athletic, which is kind of hard to do when you’re a guy like him and is so springy and bouncy anyway, but he’s gotten better man. He’s adjusted to the college game. He’s taken coach’s coaching in stride and has grown from that as well.”

Of course, the key to finding minutes with Rick Barnes is your performance on the defensive end. This staff sees a lot of potential on that end of the floor as well.

“He can be the best defender on the floor every time he steps on the floor,” Clark said. “He’s so athletic, he can block shots. He’s great in passing lanes because of his length. He’s quick twitch. He actually can stay in front of the ball. He’s a really smart basketball player with a pretty good feel. So you like to push him on that end to be great because it adds to his aggression on the offensive end where things come very natural for him.”

By and large, Carr has been a bit of an afterthought in terms of the Tennessee rotation. The Vols have Zakai Zeigler locked in at point guard, with Chaz Lanier, Jahmai Mashack and Jordan Gainey at shooting guard. Darlinstone Dubar and Igor Milicic will man the three and four spots, while Felix Okpara will take over at center.

Where does Carr slot in? How many minutes will he handle? That’s suddenly become a storyline for the upcoming season.