Texas Basketball: Marcus Carr’s shot selection critical this season

The last major addition for new Texas basketball head coach Chris Beard to the roster out of the NCAA Transfer Portal during the offseason was the former Minnesota Golden Gophers and Pitt Panthers standout point guard Marcus Carr. As a late need that Beard wanted to address this offseason, Texas was able to add depth in a big way to the backcourt unit with the addition of Carr.

Beard and the Longhorns made a huge splash in the transfer portal this offseason. It’s not difficult to make the argument that Texas had the best offseason in the transfer portal of any program in the country.

The busy offseason in the transfer portal helped to assemble a roster that snagged the Longhorns a top-five ranking in the preseason AP Poll. There’s a ton of buzz surrounding this team heading into the regular season next month, and the addition of Carr is a big reason why.

What makes Carr so important to this team is the fact that he could be one of the primary ball-handlers and initiators in this top unit. Carr could be one of the starting guards for Beard and the Longhorns this season alongside senior Courtney Ramey.

Both Ramey and Carr are potent scorers and initiators that also hold their own as solid perimeter defenders. They can each score at a high level and also facilitate effective ball movement in the half-court offense.

Texas basketball needs efficient shot selection out of Marcus Carr this season

Where the trouble comes in with the pairing of these two is with the inconsistencies in offensive production. In six seasons in college between these two, Ramey and Carr have shot better than 40 percent from the field just once. Granted, the duo has shot better than 35 percent from beyond the arc in four of those six seasons.

A high volume of three-point attempts has contributed to the lower field goal percentage.

Nonetheless, shot selection is going to be a critical point of emphasis for Beard and the Longhorns this season. That is especially true with Carr.

This trend shows up in the fact that Minnesota was so dependent on Carr’s offensive production last season that it had a pretty direct correlation on their success in the win column. For instance, when Carr was inefficient in taking a large volume of three-pointers, Minnesota wasn’t very successful.

There were eight games last season where Carr shot at least eight three-pointers. In those eight games, Minnesota finished up with a record of 2-6. In those two games that Minnesota won out of eight in this sample size, Carr shot better than 40 percent from beyond the arc. Only one of those six that Minnesota lost saw Carr shoot better than 40 percent from downtown.

If you look at it a different way, Carr’s shooting efficiency was just as critical to the Gophers in terms of his field goal percentage. There were 13 games last season where Carr shot worse than 33 percent from the field. In those 13 games, Minnesota won just two.

On the other hand, the Gophers went 7-1 in the eight games where Carr shot better than 50 percent from the field.

The point I’m trying to get to here is the fact that Carr is a high-volume shooter and scorer. And the volume in which he shoots the ball game in and game out tends to correlate more heavily than usual on his team’s success in the win column.

He will have more talented players surrounding him with Texas than he did at either Minnesota or Pitt. Thus, his shooting won’t be as crucial to create offense for the Longhorns as it was with his last two teams.

All in all, Beard likes to run an offense that is dependent on guard-first initiation and ball movement around the perimeter. If Carr is often caught taking bad shots, thus ruining the flow of the offense, it could really disrupt what Beard is trying to do here in his first year.

To counter that, Carr can shoot the ball effectively when open and he’s a high-caliber offensive creator and scorer. He could be a valuable addition to this team if his decision-making is on point.

Carr and the Longhorns are likely looking at a promising season ahead. Texas has its first game action of the season in men’s hoops at home at the Frank Erwin Center in an exhibition on Nov. 1 against Texas Lutheran. And then, the regular season opens up at home at the Erwin Center on Nov. 9 against the Houston Baptist Huskies.