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ATLANTA — It’s not the first time Coen Carr has been home. Not even the first time this season.
There’s just something different about doing it in March Madness. Especially with how much the Michigan State basketball sophomore has elevated his play during the postseason.
All of his highlight reel dunks aside — and there have been plenty: 61 this season, to be precise — Carr has shown many more facets of his talent over the past two weeks, at the Big Ten tournament and in the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament last week in Cleveland. Quickness and strength on defense. Scoring without touching the rim. Using his tremendous leaping ability to not just high-point lob passes but to snatch rebounds above his defenders at both ends of the floor.
“He's going to, I think, get better these next couple of weeks. And then the spring, summer and fall will be big to him,” coach Tom Izzo said Sunday. “Because if he continues to improve, he's going to be a star, not just a great player.”
ON THE SIDELINE: Michigan State basketball's coaching staff younger but still has plenty of Tom Izzo ties
No. 2 seed MSU (29-6) will need more of all that from Carr in the South region Sweet 16 against 6-seed Mississippi (24-11) when it plays for a spot in the Elite Eight at 7:09 p.m. Friday (CBS) at State Farm Arena in Carr's home state, where the Spartans lost in the third game of the season.
In that November Champions Classic loss to then-No. 1 Kansas, the 6-foot-6, 225-pound native of Stockbridge, Georgia, had eight points and three rebounds. Carr played his first two years in high school at Dutchtown High in nearby Hampton before finishing his prep career at Legacy Early College in Greenville, South Carolina.
“I haven't really gotten a chance to play back home,” Carr said Thursday. “I went to high school out of my state, so it's going to be fun being able to play back here again. ... I expect a lot of people here. As far as trying to organize all that, I haven't really been doing too much. It's mostly been my mom taking care of all that. I try to stay away from all that.”
That is exactly what Izzo wants and needs from his players at this point, having preached for weeks about minimizing and eliminating distractions to focus on getting better and chasing a championship. And Carr has done that with some his best play of a budding second season since MSU won the Big Ten regular-season title outright.
In the Spartans' four postseason games, Carr is averaging 10.5 points and 6.8 rebounds a game, surpassing the eight points and 3.7 boards per game he has averaged over his 35 games off the bench this season. That includes 13 offensive rebounds in that span, as well as career highs with 18 points and nine boards in helping MSU advance past Bryant in the first round.
“I've never had a group of guys that are better students, better guys. I know it sounds corny, but it's true,” Izzo said. “Coen Carr is one of them that I don't worry about. If he told me he was going somewhere to do something right now with his family or with his friends, I think I could sleep with both eyes shut.”
SHAWN WINDSOR: Tom Izzo believes Michigan State can get to another level. Spartans need it in Sweet 16
But perhaps the two areas Carr has developed and grown most this season is with his ability to defend different types of opponents, as well as making his free throws. He is hitting 68.8% at the line for the season but made 72.3% during Big Ten play and is 11-for-14 in the postseason, a sign Carr is both taking it hard to the basket and drawing contact.
“I think we're different in all aspects,” Carr said earlier this week of how the Spartans have grown since their first trip to Atlanta. “We really came together and made defense our calling card. I would say we definitely have been emphasizing defense way more. Our offense has come together, and we've been shooting better these last few games. We're just ready to show the world what we can do.”
It is the second NCAA trip MSU has had a player return to their hometown. Freshman Jesse McCulloch, who is redshirting this season, is from Cleveland and has been a vital member of the Spartans' scout team that gets Carr and others ready for opponents.
“Some people came to see me, some people actually dropped some food off. And it's been amazing,” McCulloch said last week at Rocket Arena. “I was really pulling for (Cleveland) when I heard it was an option for this. Then coach (Doug Wojcik) told me we had a high chance of going there. So when I just heard it come to fruition, it really, really made me happy.”
Izzo — after bellowing in the locker room in Cleveland, “Hey, Coen, we’re going home!” — joked that Carr would be buying dinner for the team in Atlanta. There was more needling Thursday, with Izzo saying he told Carr, “Don't be inviting any of those old girlfriends over either.”
It’s that relationship that brought Carr to East Lansing to play for the Hall of Fame coach. And it is one both believe can take him further, both in the NCAA tournament and his basketball career.
Potentially to the levels of stardom Izzo predicts.
“Just kind of seeing how he develops his players, how he cares about them,” Carr said. “If you don't want to get coached, then it's not the place to go. But if you do want to get coached and get better, this is one of the best places to go.”
Contact Chris Solari: [email protected]. Follow him @chrissolari.
Subscribe to the "Spartan Speak" podcast for new episodes weekly on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or anywhere you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at freep.com/podcasts.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State basketball: Coen Carr has 'star' potential to Tom Izzo
Continue reading...
There’s just something different about doing it in March Madness. Especially with how much the Michigan State basketball sophomore has elevated his play during the postseason.
All of his highlight reel dunks aside — and there have been plenty: 61 this season, to be precise — Carr has shown many more facets of his talent over the past two weeks, at the Big Ten tournament and in the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament last week in Cleveland. Quickness and strength on defense. Scoring without touching the rim. Using his tremendous leaping ability to not just high-point lob passes but to snatch rebounds above his defenders at both ends of the floor.
“He's going to, I think, get better these next couple of weeks. And then the spring, summer and fall will be big to him,” coach Tom Izzo said Sunday. “Because if he continues to improve, he's going to be a star, not just a great player.”
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ON THE SIDELINE: Michigan State basketball's coaching staff younger but still has plenty of Tom Izzo ties
No. 2 seed MSU (29-6) will need more of all that from Carr in the South region Sweet 16 against 6-seed Mississippi (24-11) when it plays for a spot in the Elite Eight at 7:09 p.m. Friday (CBS) at State Farm Arena in Carr's home state, where the Spartans lost in the third game of the season.
In that November Champions Classic loss to then-No. 1 Kansas, the 6-foot-6, 225-pound native of Stockbridge, Georgia, had eight points and three rebounds. Carr played his first two years in high school at Dutchtown High in nearby Hampton before finishing his prep career at Legacy Early College in Greenville, South Carolina.
“I haven't really gotten a chance to play back home,” Carr said Thursday. “I went to high school out of my state, so it's going to be fun being able to play back here again. ... I expect a lot of people here. As far as trying to organize all that, I haven't really been doing too much. It's mostly been my mom taking care of all that. I try to stay away from all that.”
That is exactly what Izzo wants and needs from his players at this point, having preached for weeks about minimizing and eliminating distractions to focus on getting better and chasing a championship. And Carr has done that with some his best play of a budding second season since MSU won the Big Ten regular-season title outright.
In the Spartans' four postseason games, Carr is averaging 10.5 points and 6.8 rebounds a game, surpassing the eight points and 3.7 boards per game he has averaged over his 35 games off the bench this season. That includes 13 offensive rebounds in that span, as well as career highs with 18 points and nine boards in helping MSU advance past Bryant in the first round.
“I've never had a group of guys that are better students, better guys. I know it sounds corny, but it's true,” Izzo said. “Coen Carr is one of them that I don't worry about. If he told me he was going somewhere to do something right now with his family or with his friends, I think I could sleep with both eyes shut.”
You must be registered for see images attach
SHAWN WINDSOR: Tom Izzo believes Michigan State can get to another level. Spartans need it in Sweet 16
But perhaps the two areas Carr has developed and grown most this season is with his ability to defend different types of opponents, as well as making his free throws. He is hitting 68.8% at the line for the season but made 72.3% during Big Ten play and is 11-for-14 in the postseason, a sign Carr is both taking it hard to the basket and drawing contact.
“I think we're different in all aspects,” Carr said earlier this week of how the Spartans have grown since their first trip to Atlanta. “We really came together and made defense our calling card. I would say we definitely have been emphasizing defense way more. Our offense has come together, and we've been shooting better these last few games. We're just ready to show the world what we can do.”
It is the second NCAA trip MSU has had a player return to their hometown. Freshman Jesse McCulloch, who is redshirting this season, is from Cleveland and has been a vital member of the Spartans' scout team that gets Carr and others ready for opponents.
“Some people came to see me, some people actually dropped some food off. And it's been amazing,” McCulloch said last week at Rocket Arena. “I was really pulling for (Cleveland) when I heard it was an option for this. Then coach (Doug Wojcik) told me we had a high chance of going there. So when I just heard it come to fruition, it really, really made me happy.”
Izzo — after bellowing in the locker room in Cleveland, “Hey, Coen, we’re going home!” — joked that Carr would be buying dinner for the team in Atlanta. There was more needling Thursday, with Izzo saying he told Carr, “Don't be inviting any of those old girlfriends over either.”
It’s that relationship that brought Carr to East Lansing to play for the Hall of Fame coach. And it is one both believe can take him further, both in the NCAA tournament and his basketball career.
Potentially to the levels of stardom Izzo predicts.
“Just kind of seeing how he develops his players, how he cares about them,” Carr said. “If you don't want to get coached, then it's not the place to go. But if you do want to get coached and get better, this is one of the best places to go.”
Contact Chris Solari: [email protected]. Follow him @chrissolari.
Subscribe to the "Spartan Speak" podcast for new episodes weekly on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or anywhere you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at freep.com/podcasts.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State basketball: Coen Carr has 'star' potential to Tom Izzo
Continue reading...
