I went to college with his father, and he was one of the best point guards I’ve ever seen, but Penn State point guard Tony Carr is about to take the family business to a whole new level.
Per an announcement at a press conference, the All-Big 10 point guard has announced that he’ll enter the 2018 NBA Draft and will hire an agent.
— The Daily Collegian (@DailyCollegian) April 2, 2018
Tony Carr is headed to the NBA, will sign with an agent. pic.twitter.com/DgQ4V1GkYu— Ben Jones (@Ben_Jones88) April 2, 2018
Tony Carr on his decision to turn pro pic.twitter.com/DZOFcr7EDu— Audrey Snyder (@audsnyder4) April 2, 2018
Carr has a chance to be a first-round pick and a really good NBA point guard.
Here’s what some NBA scouts offered on the talented floor general:
NBA front-office executive 1:Carr, who led Penn State to the NIT Championship last week, averaged 19.6 points and 5.0 assists this season, earning first-team All-Big Ten honors.
“He’s got a bunch of good things going for him. Number one, it’s his poise, patience and smarts. It’s just really hard to speed him up. He sees the floor pretty well. He makes all the right basketball reads. He’s pretty good making his reads in the pick-and-roll.
“He does a good job of using his body to shield the ball and can see over the defense with his size. He feels like a half-court type of guy than transition. He gets you on his backside like that and he’s good at backing you down with his size, his strength and his handle.
“The biggest thing is the shooting. He kind of shoots that push shot, but he gets really nice arc on it, it’s a soft shot. That’s why he’s gotten all the acclaim. And he’s got to work on his defense. He’s smart on defense, but he’s not real engaged. And it is tough since because you’re carrying such a hard load on offense it’s tough to bring it for the number of minutes he needs to bring it on, both ends.
“With the way defenses are switching in today’s league, that’s where his size is really an attribute because he can switch onto twos and onto some threes probably. That’ll be something they’ll flush out if he goes to the combine and comes in for pre-draft workouts.”
NBA player comparison: Chauncey Billups
When does he go?
“At the end of the day, I think if he comes out he’ll be right in that 25 to 40 range.”
NBA front-office executive 2:
“He’s got good size for a point guard. In the NBA, you’ve got to cross many thresholds of physical ability before getting to skill set, and he checks all those boxes. I like his feel for the game. He sees the floor well. I think he gets others involved and is a team player.
“His shot has gotten better. I think it’ll still need work at the next level. His form isn’t great. It’s gotten better, and he’s become much more of a threat from deep, but still think it’s going to be a work in progress at the next level.
“And shooting is important for everybody, but I think it’s especially important for him. Because he’s not super fast or quick or the type of guy that’s going to break down the defense and get into the paint, he’s become somebody who’s good in ball screen actions, and at the next level will need to make defenders pay for going under those screens.
“I do think he’ll be able to shoot. It’s just how well he’ll be able to shoot will dictate what his ceiling is. I think he’s got a nice post game, but it’s a secondary thing because of how the game is played today.
“Defensively, he’s got interesting tools. He moves well enough, but he’s really just not that engaged on that end of the floor. Definitely takes plays off. That, for sure, has to be improved at the next level because coaches aren’t going to trust him if he’s not able to defend.
“Since he’s not a top pick, he’s going to have earn an opportunity, and in order to do that, he’s got to find a way onto the floor by finding what his niche is. If a coach can’t put him on the floor because he’s messing up the defense, he’s not going to get to show what he can do otherwise.
“He plays with a really good pace. He’s not extremely fast or quick, but he doesn’t have any issues getting anywhere he wants to go. Obviously, I like the size that he has at the point guard position. When I saw him last year, I really didn’t know if he could shoot from 3 because he’s really good at getting to the mid-range and pulling up using his size. And then when he shot a 3, it was kind of like a set shot, not real confident looking. So I was wondering about that throughout the season, but then he shoots 46 percent and you’re like, ‘OK. He can shoot.’
“It doesn’t look the smoothest or the cleanest every single time, but you just can’t argue with the results right now. So I think that’s a testament to him and the work he put in because he didn’t shoot like that last year — at all.
“I think he’s a scoring point guard, which is fine. In our league, a lot of the leading point guards are more scorers than they are true point guards.
“I’d tell him to keep working on his strength and his body. I think that helped him make the jump from last year to this year. He can also improve his quickness. I think his attitude and body language at times can get a little bit better. He gets frustrated and he kind of lets it shows a little bit, which is not all bad but you just want to tone it down a little bit.
“And just running the team, keep getting guys better and make guys enjoy playing with you and getting them shots. It’s not always about scoring all the time, so can you balance that in crunch time?”
Where do you expect him to get drafted?
“All it takes is for one team to really like you, so that could be anywhere at 15 or 20 or that could be somewhere in the 50s. You just never really know, but if I had to guess I would say late first to middle of the second.”
The NBA draft will be June 21.
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