Antoine Carr

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Antoine Labotte Carr (born July 23, 1961) is a retired 16-year National Basketball Association journeyman player well known for the sunglass shades he wore onto the court.

[edit] Early life

Antoine Carr was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. A tall, garrulous youngster, Carr was a star basketball player at Wichita Heights High School (class of 1979), landing a scholarship to play locally at Wichita State University. A four-year player, Carr was a major contributor on a team that also included future NBA players Xavier McDaniel and Cliff Levingston, averaging 17 points per game while shooting over 55% during his college career.

[edit] Pro career

Coming off a senior season where he'd averaged 22.5 points and 7.6 rebounds a game in a strong college program, Carr was selected by the Detroit Pistons in the first round (eighth pick overall) of the 1983 NBA Draft out of Wichita State. Despite being a lottery pick, Carr played the 1983-84 season in Italy with Olimpia Milano. Returning to the NBA in the 1984-85 season, he played six full seasons with the Atlanta Hawks before moving to the Sacramento Kings in the middle of the 1989-90 campaign. While in Sacramento, Carr averaged 20 points per game and was the team's star. He scored 1,551 points that season, by far his best scoring season (aside from that season, he never scored more than 1000 points). Carr also played for the San Antonio Spurs, where he led the team in field goal percentage. Carr was signed as a free agent by the Utah Jazz on October 29, 1994, where he was a periodic starter at the center position beside power forward Karl Malone. When not starting, he settled in as his role as the energetic and jovial sixth man. Coach Jerry Sloan utilized Carr extensively during the two years that the Jazz reached the NBA finals – relying on his experience and ability to control the ball. Carr led the Jazz to victory in Game 5 of the 1998 Finals against the Chicago Bulls. Carr finished his career with the Houston Rockets and Vancouver Grizzlies, playing 18 games with Houston and 21 with Vancouver in a reserve role.

Carr scored over 9000 points in his NBA career. Carr had a strong ability to manage the ball down low, even as a small center. He is known for his power and his ability to easily hit an 18-foot jumper from the top of the key. After receiving an eye injury, Carr wore orange-tinted Oakley sunglasses for the rest of his career.

His brother Henry Carr also played for Wichita State University, and was drafted in 1987 by the Los Angeles Clippers.