Louisville basketball: Everything you need to know about Marcus Carr

Louisville basketball is a finalist for coveted transfer Marcus Carr. What to know about the former Minnesota star.

This is the moment that we’ve patiently waited for as Louisville basketball fans during the Chris Mack era.

The Cardinals are finalists for a highly coveted transfer who could seemingly transform the trajectory of the 2021-22 season.

The Louisville roster, as it stands, shows plenty of promise. However, it feels like the Cards are 1-2 pieces away from contending for a conference title or a solid run in the postseason.

Louisville basketball needs a big-time playmaker, and Marcus Carr could very well be that guy. Here is a look at everything you need to know about the Minnesota transfer.

Carr started his career at Pitt

Carr was a three-star, top 150 player out of high school and chose Pitt over Virginia Tech, Cincinnati, and Maryland among others.

A Canadian native and product of Florida’s Montverde Academy, Carr was listed as the No. 30 point guard by 247Sports.

Carr started in 27 games, averaging 10 points and four assists for the Panthers. In two games against Louisville in 2017-18, Carr averaged 10 points and 1 assist.

He departed from the program when coach Kevin Stallings was let go after the season.

The best player on a bad team

Carr sat out the 2018-19 season under Richard Pitino in Minneapolis. This is relevant because he was on the bench when the Goph’s exploded for a hot shooting night and a big-time upset win over Louisville basketball in the NCAA Tournament.

That Minnesota team featured memorable talent like Amir Coffey, Jordan Murphy, Daniel Oturu, and, of course, Matz Stockman.

Coffey and Murphy departed for the league after the season leaving just Carr and Oturu as the team’s two notable star players.

Over the next two seasons, the Gophers got off to decent starts in the non-conference but struggled badly when Big Ten play rolled around. Carr and the Gophers went 8-12 and then 6-14 in conference play in Pitino’s final years.

Simply put, Carr was an elite-level player on a pretty bad team that took a nosedive with the departure of Oturu and injuries to Carr’s backcourt mate Gabe Kalscheur.

Trending: The best of the college basketball transfer portal, Volume 4

The bad

That leads us to the criticisms over Carr’s game. Although he was a first-team All-Conference player in hands-down the deepest conference in the country last season, Carr wasn’t good enough to receive first-round type feedback from NBA execs.

Carr’s measurables at the G League Combine were strikingly similar to those of former Louisville star Carlik Jones. He measured 6’2″ with shoes on, 197 pounds, just shy of a 6’7″ wingspan, with an 8’1″ standing reach (Jones measured 6’1,” 173, 8’2″ standing reach).

Like Jones, Carr’s size and athleticism are not eye-popping. Compared to Jones, he performed worse in the vertical jump measurements and is slightly quicker in his 3/4 court speed.

Numbers aren’t everything but coming from a losing environment where he is leaving because his last two coaches got canned, it’s important to note that Carr has things to work on. Over the coming weeks or months, you are going to hear a lot of great things about Carr’s game- and with good reason. Still, it’s important to note that there is a reason that he is not going to the league just yet.

The good

With that being said, there is a lot more good that outweighs the issues for whatever team lands Carr.

There’s a reason Carr is a first-team all-conference player and one of the most coveted players in the transfer portal this offseason. He is an elite-level playmaker that can score at all levels.

For his career, Carr is a 34 percent 3-point shooter with a massive sample size. In three seasons, Carr has already taken almost as many three-point shots as Ryan McMahon did in four full years. Carr is a threat to pull from deep at any time and shoots with range. This stood out to evaluators as a strength in his game during G-League Combine workouts.

Carr’s other real offensive strength is simply as a do-it-all playmaker and distributor. He is incredibly effective as a dribble driver and he goes to the rim with aggression. His craftiness leads to him drawing a ton of fouls. Last season, Carr attempted 6.7 free throws a game, making them at an 80 percent clip.

Additionally, Carr can be a high-level distributor. During his junior season, Carr averaged 6.5 assists per game, and for his career, he has better than a 2-to-1 assist-to-turnover rate.

If there is a common criticism of Carr’s game it is that he tries to do too much. He often drives to the rim with no plan in mind, forces up shots late in the shot clock, or just takes shots out of the flow of the offense.

However, it is important to remember that Carr has never played on a college team that finished above .500. Last season, it was just Marcus Carr and a bunch of dudes. The Gophers only won 6 conference games because Carr was able to elevate the play of the team around him.

Wherever he winds up, if he wants to eventually be an NBA-level player, Carr will have to prove that he is reliable with the ball in his hands and a willing playmaker.

Carr is a bit of a streaky scorer, but when he is on he can get it done in bunches. Last season alone, Carr scored 25 or more points on 7 occasions, including 41 against Nebraska- the 6th-most ever from a Canadian-born player.

Examining Carr’s best fit

Now, the question becomes whether or not Carr fits with Louisville basketball and whether or not the Cards can reel him in.

Carr is reportedly considering Kentucky, Kansas, Texas, Louisville, and overseas professional options.

Kentucky currently has one open scholarship. By all reports, the Cats are actively pursuing 2022 reclass Jalen Duren and Illinois transfer Kofi Cockburn. Additionally, UK already has 6 guards on the roster.

Kansas has no open scholarship spots.

Texas returns a loaded roster that features guards Courtney Ramey, Andrew Jones, and UK transfer Devin Askew. Additionally, the Longhorns have added Timmy Allen, Tre Mitchell, and Christian Bishop- three of the best playmakers from the 2021 transfer portal.

Making the case for Carr at Louisville

Though Texas is considered the favorite at this point, it’s hard to envision Carr being a good fit with the Longhorns. Texas has three veteran ball handlers and two more that could very well earn significant playing time. Simply put, UT is loaded with solid playmakers. Remember, Carr has established himself as a guy who is the playmaker on every team he’s been on. Going to Texas, he would be one of the better players on the team. Still, he would not be the guy. And he more than likely would not be the primary ball-handler which the offense runs through.

That would not be the case at Louisville.

Louisville basketball has three really solid pieces in guards El Ellis, Noah Locke, and Jarrod West. However, what the Louisville roster lacks is a high-level playmaking guard.

Last season, Louisville forwards Jae’Lyn Withers and Samuell Williamson thrived in off-ball situations and one-on-one opportunities. Locke, Louisville’s newest sharp-shooter as well as deep threat Matt Cross, thrived in catch-and-shoot situations at their previous spots. According to Hoops Insight, “last season, Locke had 120 spot-up opportunities, easily his most common action. The second most common halfcourt action he ran was as a pick and roll ballhandler with 42 opportunities.” Additionally, Hoops Insight notes that 94% of Locke’s three-point attempts were off of assists.

As far as Ellis and West, Louisville’s two most likely candidates to start at point guard could have their skillsets accentuated as secondary ballhandlers. Particularly West, who began his career as a spot-up shooter and developed into more of a distributor. Ellis is a capable playmaker and number one guy, but he is unproven at the highest level.

Louisville basketball needs one more big-time playmaker, and it appears that the addition of Carr could make his fellow backcourt mates even more comfortable with their new squad.

What about ruffled feathers in the back court?

The first video Louisville basketball released this summer featured Ellis walking fans through some behind-the-scenes items. Ellis, a combo guard, introduced himself as “Louisville point guard” El Ellis. When some fans think about another guard joining the fold they probably picture the cafeteria scene from Glory Road. “Harry Flournoy, Gary, Indiana… THE starting forward.”

In reality, Mack says he doesn’t see things that way. “You have to first start with talent,” Mack told Matt McGavic when asked about what position Louisville was looking to fill. “We have some flexibility and versatility in our roster where we can push guys to other positions… The first thing we look at is the talent.”

By all accounts, Carr may be the most talented player on the transfer market this offseason. Mack isn’t going to turn that down because his players are worried about competition or playing time.

“You want guys on the roster that (say) ‘I don’t care who coach brings in. I’m gonna prove that I’m better than that guy,'” Mack told Nick Coffey in May. “If you don’t have those guys and everybody’s counting spots on the roster and ‘who plays my position’ you have the wrong type of makeup.”