Texas Basketball: 3 players who need to pick up the pace in December
Marcus Carr, G
Without a doubt, the Longhorns player that is off to the most disappointing start this season is the former Minnesota Golden Gophers and Pitt Panthers senior guard Marcus Carr. It’s clear that Carr is going through a transition phase as he adjusts to a lower-usage role and playing more consistent on-ball defense in this system under Beard.
Carr’s usage rate this season is at a career-low 21.5 percent. The good news is that his turnover rate is also at a career-low, around 18 percent. He just needs to translate that type of efficiency with the rest of his game. Carr is still forcing up shots and coughing the ball in an unforced manner at times this season.
Shaking those old habits will be important moving forward.
Carr has found a better rhythm in the last two games, shooting around 46 percent from the field and 50 percent from beyond the arc in the wins over Sam Houston State and UTRGV. Keep up that type of efficiency against the likes of Stanford and Seton Hall, and Texas will be in a good spot with Carr in the starting backcourt.
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All in all, the all-encompassing advanced metrics for Carr do a good job illustrating his overall impact on the team out of the gates this season. Texas brought Carr in to do better than a 1.0 box plus/minus, 13.8 player efficiency rating, and a 49.1 true shooting percentage. He’s played better in the last two games, but we’ll see how consistent he can be from here on out.