There is a familiar face within the Los Angeles Lakers locker room for rookie first-round pick Cameron Carr as he was a college teammate of third-year guard Dalton Knecht. While Carr broke out at Baylor University, he began his college career at the University of Tennessee, being a freshman on the team in which Knecht starred as a First Team All-American and led to an Elite Eight appearance.
And Carr actually took a lot from the older Knecht, revealing that he was a player whom he tried to emulate, particularly in terms of his work ethic, and still maintains a strong connection to this day.
“I’ve been in communication with him since my freshman year,” Carr said during his introductory press conference. “I walked onto campus, he was a little bit older than me and he was someone I tried to copy. Especially in college. I was 17, he was a little bit older and had a better work ethic. He knew what it took to be successful. So as much as I could take away from him at that time, I did. Our connection is still strong. That’s still my guy.”
While Knecht hasn’t had the impact many had hoped since being drafted by the Lakers, he was an absolute star in college and one of the best players in the country during his final year. And one thing that can not be questioned is his work ethic, so Carr seeing and learning from that as a young player makes total sense and is a great sign about his willingness and desire to learn and be the best.
It took Carr leaving Tennessee and arriving at Baylor to show off the results of that hard work as broke out in a big way, averaging 18.9 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.3 blocks. Carr also shot 37.4% from 3-point range so he can provide some much-needed shooting to the Lakers, but what really could be the difference is his elite athletic ability and defensive potential.
Time will tell whether Carr can reach that potential in the NBA, but he can at least have someone to turn to that he knows and trusts as he begins his career.
Cameron Carr excited to learn from Luka Doncic & Austin Reaves
The rookie has a couple of excellent teammates he hopes to play alongside in Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. And Carr is excited to be able to be a sponge and learn as much as he can from them.
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