I noticed the lists of probable starters did not mention Carr. Were they made before he decided to come back or is he not considered on the two deep as a PG. I thought he played well last year as a Freshman.

bearfan66 said:

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I noticed the lists of probable starters did not mention Carr. Were they made before he decided to come back or is he not considered on the two deep as a PG. I thought he played well last year as a Freshman.

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In addition to TT we have 3 incoming transfers, 1 incoming freshie, and blueshirt Ruff at guard. I assume we signed the transfers because we thought they would contribute right away. That's a lot of competition for 2 starting spots.

stu said:

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bearfan66 said:

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I noticed the lists of probable starters did not mention Carr. Were they made before he decided to come back or is he not considered on the two deep as a PG. I thought he played well last year as a Freshman.

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In addition to TT we have 3 incoming transfers, 1 incoming freshie, and blueshirt Ruff at guard. I assume we signed the transfers because we thought they would contribute right away. That's a lot of competition for 2 starting spots.

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I think it is pretty clear that the reason he hit the Portal was he saw the writing on the wall and was looking for options where he could start this year. I think he came back to develop and compete for playing time while getting a good education. He is only a sophomore.

The main thing is that for a guy his size he needs to shoot A LOT better than .257 from 3. He made a single 3pt shot in his last 16 games. One. He cannot be a defensive liability AND an offensive liability and expect to get PT, He has to have the confidence and ability to hit the open 3 when defenses sag off of him. That will open up everything else. Fortunately, shooting is a skill that can be practiced and developed. Hopefully that is what he is doing right now.

calumnus said:

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stu said:

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bearfan66 said:

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I noticed the lists of probable starters did not mention Carr. Were they made before he decided to come back or is he not considered on the two deep as a PG. I thought he played well last year as a Freshman.

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In addition to TT we have 3 incoming transfers, 1 incoming freshie, and blueshirt Ruff at guard. I assume we signed the transfers because we thought they would contribute right away. That's a lot of competition for 2 starting spots.

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I think it is pretty clear that the reason he hit the Portal was he saw the writing on the wall and was looking for options where he could start this year. I think he came back to develop and compete for playing time while getting a good education. He is only a sophomore.

The main thing is that for a guy his size he needs to shoot A LOT better than .257 from 3. He made a single 3pt shot in his last 16 games. One. He cannot be a defensive liability AND an offensive liability and expect to get PT, He has to have the confidence and ability to hit the open 3 when defenses sag off of him. That will open up everything else. Fortunately, shooting is a skill that can be practiced and developed. Hopefully that is what he is doing right now.

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In his last 5 games TT made 2 of 4 threes. In the previous 14 games he made 0 of 8. Certainly needs work but the sample size is tiny.

I watched TT's high school tape and then throughout his freshman year. His outside shot looked decent until about January or maybe February, when it started to look a little funky. So maybe he needed a re-set, in terms of mechanics.

I can think of Cal guards who didn't shoot too well at first, then improved to "very good": Ayinde Ubaka and Keith Smith. If Carr can get to "pretty good" (above 33%), he'll be okay.

I thought that starting 1-2 of Pippin and Ames was the best we have had for quite a while (at least last 3 staffs). But the drop off after those 2 was pretty steep. TT Carr (& mostly DJ Campbell) did admirably for a true Frosh and journeyman backup, but it was obvious that formula was NOT going to put us in the top half of the ACC.

Pretty sure the staff recognized that and went out to have a stronger and deeper 4-5 player rotation for 2 spots. Maybe not as good as the first 2 (Pippin and Ames) - but much better at 3 through 5. TT Carr is probably 4th or 5th on that rotation - not 2 or 3.

Everyone else is new, so it is all a bit of an unknown. A LOT will be developed pre-season and OOC to find the optimal rotation.

As others have mentioned, above. TT Carr has a lot of opportunity to improve, but no reason (other than returning) to be pencilled in as a starter or even primary backup. Hopefully, he WILL take the next step and we will have the problem of too much talent (vs not enough).

Big C said:

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I watched TT's high school tape and then throughout his freshman year. His outside shot looked decent until about January or maybe February, when it started to look a little funky. So maybe he needed a re-set, in terms of mechanics.

I can think of Cal guards who didn't shoot too well at first, then improved to "very good": Ayinde Ubaka and Keith Smith. If Carr can get to "pretty good" (above 33%), he'll be okay.

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Does anyone know if Theo Robertson is still around? If so, would he be willing to help Cal players work on their (perimeter) shooting?

barsad said:

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Time to start listening to the Bears radio broadcasts, Theo has been around the team for the last 3 years as the color analyst with Justin Allegri, he does a good job, too. He's been an assistant before, I think he's chosen media over coaching for now.
https://calbears.com/news/2023/11/1/mens-basketball-theo-robertson-named-mens-basketball-color-analyst.aspx

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He can always pull a Paws and mentor some of the kids to improve their skills. That is, of course, assuming he'd be interested in doing so.