Aquille Carr

Aquille Carr (born September 28, 1993) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Saint John Mill Rats of the Canadian National Basketball League. He attended Princeton Day Academy in Lanham, Maryland. Carr has been described as one of the most explosive scorers in the United States and was a scouted prospect for the 2013 college recruiting class. In January 2012, Carr announced his commitment to the Seton Hall University Pirates men's basketball team for the 2013–14 season.^[1] But, on March 17, 2013, he announced that he was skipping college to play overseas.^[2]

High school career

A native of Baltimore, Carr is known for his small stature, athleticism, and ball-handling abilities. The Washington Post noted that he's "somewhat generously listed at 5 feet 7, in sneakers, including his hair."^[3] As a freshman, he led his Patterson High School team to a 76–62 upset victory over No. 5 Digital Harbor with 20 points, 10 assists, and six steals. For the feat, The Baltimore Sun named him its Boys Athlete of the Week on December 23, 2009.^[4] The following week, Carr received the honor again after he scored 15 of his 38-points in the fourth quarter against defending Class 2A state champions, Baltimore City College.^[5] Filling in as the starting point guard, he helped Patterson defeat Josh Selby-led Lake Clifton with 39 points and 19 assists.^[6] In his freshman season, he averaged 25.5 points, 8.0 assists and 5.3 steals.^[7]

During his sophomore season, he scored 57 points against Forest Park to win the Big Miller Christmas Classic, 103–71.^[8] In that game, he scored seven three-pointers, 12 two-point field goals, and on 12-of-15 free throws,^[8] and surpassed his school's single-game scoring record that had stood for 50 years.^[6] Carr led his team to a school-best 25–2 record and the Class 4A state championship game, where they incurred their second loss.^[9] On the season, he averaged 31.3 points, 5.6 assists, and 4.5 steals.^[6] In his first two years at Patterson, he tallied more than 1,000 points.^[9] On April 6, 2011, ESPN named Carr the High School Player of the Week.^[10]

During his junior year, he led the Patterson High Clippers to the Maryland 3A state championship. He scored 28 points and had 8 assists.

He developed a significant following in his hometown of Baltimore. The Sun characterized him as a "must-see phenomenon".^[11] Patterson relocated from its small gymnasium to the arena on the Morgan State University campus eight times during the season to hold the large crowds drawn to attend his games.^[3] He received numerous nicknames, the most notable being "The Crime Stopper", for his alleged effect on the city's crime rate.^[3] His high school coach, Harry Martin said, "The crime in East Baltimore probably goes down during our games."^[11] One of his highlight videos on YouTube received almost 500,000 views as of March 2011.^[3] That video has since received over 5.9 million views.^[12]

Italian contract offer

In April 2011, Carr played on the U.S. junior team in the Junior International Tournament in Milan, Italy. He led the team to capture the gold medal and averaged 40.0 points per game.^[13] After scoring 45 points in one game, Italian fans carried him from the court.^[13] Shortly after the tournament, the Italian professional basketball club Lottomatica Roma (the same club Brandon Jennings played for after high school) reportedly offered the high school sophomore a $750,000 contract.^[13][14] It was the largest contract ever offered by a European club to a high school player before graduation.^[13] According to his coach, Carr planned to finish his high school career at Patterson; however there was some speculation that he will be unable to play his senior year at a Baltimore Public School due to turning 19 years old before the start of the season.^[15] Carr eventually transferred to a series of prep schools.

Professional career

On November 1, 2013, Carr was drafted by the Delaware 87ers in the third round of the 2013 NBA Development League Draft.^[16][17] On November 23, 2013, in his debut game, Carr recorded 15 points and 2 assists in a 106-117 loss to the Canton Charge.^[18] On January 3, 2014, he was waived by the 87ers.^[19]

On April 20, 2014, Carr announced his intentions to enter the 2014 NBA draft^[20] but subsequently went undrafted.

On September 9, 2014, Carr signed a one-year deal with the Saint John Mill Rats of the Canadian National Basketball League.^[21] On December 13, 2014, he was released by the Mill Rats after appearing in 10 games.^[22]

Playing style

Some analysts questioned if his game would translate to the collegiate or professional level because of his bantam stature.^[9][13] However, he reportedly measures a 48-inch vertical leap, has excellent ball-handling skills, which allow him to create space for his shot,^[9] and the athleticism to dunk despite his height.^[23] CBS Sports called him "one of the most explosive scorers in the country".^[9] Sports Illustrated wrote, "He has explosive speed, electric ball-handling skills and court vision that could rival Steve Nash's."^[6] ESPN wrote that he is "one of the quickest and [most] explosive players in the country, regardless of class," but noted his inconsistent jump shot and turnovers were areas for improvement.^[7] The Baltimore Sun likened the criticisms to "complaining about the floor mats on a Ferrari."^[11]

As of June 2011, ESPN gave Carr a grade of 92 ("Player has the potential to significantly contribute to a high-major program over four years") and ranked him the No. 9 point guard and No. 50 overall player in the 2013 college recruiting class.^[7] Rivals.com ranked him the No. 53 overall player in his class.^[24] Carr played with the Under Armour-sponsored Baltimore Elite Amateur Athletic Union team.^[13] Carr reported that he had received about 28 scholarship offers before the end of his sophomore year.^[11]

References

External links

• NBA D-League Profile