On the defensive end, Cam Carr worked the corner, keeping himself between his man and the rim. On the offensive end, he came up with a loose ball near midcourt, dribbled hard toward the foul line and threw an alley oop to a wide open Josiah-Jordan James on the baseline.
Tennessee was clinging to a four-point lead last February at Rupp Arena, with Kentucky on a 12-2 run to get back in it, when Carr was not only getting minutes, but playing an important role on important possessions for the Vols.
A month later, in the Sweet Sixteen against Creighton in Detroit, Carr was open in the corner and on the receiving end of a Dalton Knecht drive and kick. Tennessee trailed by four and Carr let it fly, hitting a momentum-changing shot with 1:32 left in the first half.
It’s those kind of moments that show the upside of Carr, Tennessee’s long, athletic sophomore wing.
“We think he’s got a chance to be an outstanding all-around player,” coach Rick Barnes said this week.
Up Next: No. 12 Tennessee vs. No. 17 Indiana, Sunday, 3 p.m. ET, SEC Network+
Carr’s first chance to show it will be when No. 12 Tennessee hosts No. 17 Indiana Sunday afternoon (3 p.m. Eastern Time, SEC Network+) in a charity exhibition game at Food City Center.
It’s the final dress rehearsal before the Vols open the regular-season schedule at home against Gardner-Webb on November 4.
For Carr, the start of the season comes at a good time.
“You know what,” Barnes said before practice Friday afternoon, “he has stacked together a pretty good last 10 days. And that’s what we’re looking for, the consistency in the right areas that we need him to be good in.”
Carr signed with Tennessee as a four-star shooting guard in 2023, ranked No. 54 overall in the class in the On3 Industry Ranking. He has big-time basketball in his blood with his father, Chris Carr, playing six years as a shooting guard in the NBA.
Last season, though, Carr appeared in just 14 games, averaging only 4.2 minutes off the bench.
‘That’s where I do think he’s gotten better, with cardio toughness’
Those numbers should increase significantly this season, with Carr being one of three sophomores — forwards Cade Phillips and JP Estrella are the other two — that will have to play a bigger role for the Vols in their second seasons.
“The biggest thing I guess with he and all of our younger guys is the consistency,” Barnes said, “in terms of being able to play at a level when they start getting fatigued.
“Can they maintain and not let fatigue be the reason they make mistakes?”
It’s a question Carr has to answer, a long with a few of his teammates.
“I think he understands what we’re doing,” Barnes said, “but it’s a matter of executing it at a high level, knowing that other teams are trying to keep you from doing what you want to do on both ends of the court. So that’s where I do think he’s gotten better, with cardio toughness.
“But I would say our team right now, we’ve got two, maybe three guys that are probably ready to go at the that level way we want to and these other guys need to get there.”
