The next year, he worked for a valet company.

The year after that, he walked on to play at Colorado Mesa, a Division II school in Grand Junction, Colorado.

Now, Threatt is a 2,143-point career scorer. Among about 5,000 Division I players, the Weber State men’s basketball senior is one of 21 to average 20 points per game this season.

So though he’s from a well-to-do suburb and is the son of an NBA player, the line hasn’t been as straight as could be assumed.

ISAAC FISHER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

“(Colorado Mesa) was a big stepping stone for me because I came from, you know, Scottsdale (Arizona). You hear Scottsdale, you think of privilege, and I came from privilege my whole life and then it was kind of a gut shot, not getting a scholarship,” Threatt said. “Then having to take that Division II walk-on spot work my way up. And I really took each year serious.”

The 6-foot-3 guard with a linebacker’s build and speed befitting his name went from 17 games off the bench, to part-time starter, to an unstoppable force over three seasons at Colorado Mesa. By the 2022-23 season, he averaged 18.9 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.6 steals per game on 52.8% shooting, including 45.2% from the 3-point line.

His first season at Weber State ended with two wrist injuries in the regular-season finale and a first-round exit in the Big Sky tournament. He said he knew immediately, sitting in the locker room in Boise, Idaho, what his next year needed to look like.

“I knew I had a lot more responsibility. So I took the summer extremely serious … I worked extremely hard every day. My family can attest to it,”  Threatt said, pointing to his mother and others in the media room after Monday’s regular-season finale. “I was in Arizona at 12 a.m. running 4 miles outside by myself and the season’s seven months away. I’m outside just trying to stay in shape or gain an edge because I want to show people like — I’ve always been underappreciated and undervalued my whole life and I just want to show people that you can do it at any level.

“I always talk about how people said my game wasn’t going to transition to Division I, and I keep that chip on my shoulder and I really try to prove people that I can do it, and I’m good enough so I just I go into each game and each day with that mentality.”

ISAAC FISHER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

He felt he’d experience a jump this season based on his familiarity with DI basketball and based on his work ethic. He also knows there’s more in the tank. His athleticism and production would seem to make a lock for Threatt to play professionally, whether that’s a shot somewhere like the NBA G League or overseas.

“I try not to think too far in the future and I haven’t really put much thought into next year, even,” Threatt said. “I really just try to stay in the moment and stay one game at a time. I feel like I’ve really grown this year. … I’ve just got to keep pushing because I’m not even close to my ceiling, how good I can possibly be in the future. So I’m gonna keep working.”

Threatt’s final college campaign has been noteworthy. On a better team, he’d be a lock for Big Sky MVP like Dillon Jones before him. He’s averaged 20.1 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.9 steals per game on 52.3% shooting.

Threatt said he spoke with Jones last week about how much more experience last year’s team had — himself, Steven Verplancken Jr., KJ Cunningham — and how he saw this season’s experience drop out with Miguel Tomley and Dyson Koehler getting knocked out of action, leaving himself and Alex Tew.

“When Miguel left the team, I kind of took some time to just reevaluate: What do I need to do to help this team be successful?” he said. “I know that it’s on my shoulders to step up.”

ISAAC FISHER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

Even more than before, opposing scouting reports are dialed in squarely on Threatt. He says he has to “accept that” and maintain his steady approach.

He’s risen to the occasion. Since missing two contests with a stomach virus in early January, Threatt has averaged 24.3 points, 6.6 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.4 steals while shooting 52.7% over the regular season’s final 13 games. Seven of those came after suffering a sprained ankle late against Idaho State, something he’s played through.

All that’s left is however many games ninth-place Weber State can manage at this year’s tournament, which begins Saturday evening for the Wildcats. At his down-the-stretch scoring clip, two games would have Threatt flirting with the 1,000-point mark in just two seasons at WSU; he’d be the 38th such player in program history.

After last year’s late injuries and quick exit, he’s determined to go down swinging.

“I’m gonna leave everything on the floor, regardless of the result, because I know … win or lose, these next couple games, I gave this university, I gave this team, this coaching staff, these fans everything I had, and I don’t regret anything that I put into it because I know I didn’t shortcut myself. I didn’t shortcut these coaches,” he said.

“I do so much extensive work on my body just to try to come out here and give us the best effort. And my ankle’s not great, but nobody cares about if you’re feeling good or if you’re healthy because they want to win. So, I’m not going to complain. … I want to win. That’s it. I just want to win. I’ve never won on Boise’s floor, so I want to feel what it feels like to win because I remember how devastated I was last year, just sitting in that locker room and kind of just taking some time to reflect about everything.

“When you lose in Boise, all the emotions from the entire year hit you kind of at once, the end of the year. And I don’t want to feel that again, I want to celebrate when I’m out there. I want to have a good time, so like, I said, I’m gonna give everything I have on Saturday, and hopefully we can come out and win.”