Basketball Scouting Report: Tony Carr
Though the 2015-1016 Penn State men’s basketball season has just begun, it’s never too early to take a look at some of the incoming players headlining a stacked recruiting class set to make their mark for the Nittany Lions next season.
According to Scout.com, Penn State has secured the 13th best recruiting class for 2016.
At the forefront is four-star point guard Tony Carr, a 6’4’’, 180-pound swingman from Roman Catholic High School in Philadelphia.
Carr chose the Nittany Lions after narrowing down a final list of strong basketball schools that included Maryland, Temple, Southern Methodist and Providence. He also had offers from Georgetown, Indiana, Illinois, Arizona State, and Florida State, among others.
Reports on the Philadelphia product have him marked as a pass-first floor general with strong court vision. The versatile Carr is very good at moving coast-to-coast and has been regarded for his ability to hit tough shots moving towards the basket.
Carr is a solid shooter overall, but has a tendency to pass up his shot and can be lax when his assertiveness is needed as the leader on the floor. His long arms allow him to cause havoc on the defensive end of the floor, but his slender frame means he will need to put in some work in the weight room. A summer lifting program should get him ready to compete with the other guards at the Division I level.
Carr comes from a strong basketball school in Roman-Catholic, which has produced current and former NBAers including Rasual Butler, Mark Jackson, and Maalik Wayns. Rivals rated Carr the top recruit coming out of Pennsylvania and the 53rd best recruit in the class of 2016, while ESPN ranked him as the 50th best overall in their top 100.
Carr’s commitment is huge for the Penn State program, and along with the other recruits Chambers has been able to sign, the 2016 recruiting class could be one that eventually transforms the Nittany Lions into a serious contender in the Big Ten.
Carr will be in line to take the reins of head coach Pat Chambers’ offense and give the Nittany Lions a bonafide point guard for the first time since Tim Frazier when he steps onto the Penn State campus next summer.
Tyler DiSalle is a senior majoring in print journalism. To contact him, email tjd5325@psu.edu.
