Highschool star Aquille Carr to Europe?

Aquille Carr, the high school Basketball star who has led an interesting life on and away from the court in the last year has said that he will avoid college basketball as a route to the NBA and will instead move overseas.

While the news is hardly revelatory given that Carr had hinted at such a career path before, it has nevertheless raised a few eyebrows. Carr confirmed his decision to head overseas as opposed to play in college after his final high school game for Princeton Day Academy in Laurel in which he scored 52 points.

Scouts and observers are already saying that prospects for Carr overseas could be limited, despite the point guard’s undoubted quality.

Aquille Carr has experienced the cliché roller coaster year, indeed Carr’s biography is quickly proving one of the most storied in Baltimore prep history. While at Patterson Carr become a local megastar, a sensation who would draw huge crowds to games while he also became an online hit thanks to his all action highlight reels on YouTube.

Things started to get messy for Carr last year when he was arrested for assaulting the mother of his now one-year daughter, Averi. The aftermath of his arrest brought with it testing times for the 19-year old and at one time he considered leaving the Baltimore system in favour of high schools in either New Jersey or Florida, although the point guard eventually found a new home with Princeton Day.

The birth of his daughter and his desire to provide for his family has led Carr to the decision that moving to Europe is a better option than playing in college. While financially he could be right, many scouts are casting doubts over whether Carr can actually make a significant impact overseas, and are cautioning that while avoiding college worked as a way to the NBA for some, that route would not apply to everyone.

One recent inspiration for taking the overseas route is Brandon Jennings, who is now the point guard at the Milwaukee Bucks. Jennings left high school and opted to play overseas as opposed to entering the college system, he moved to Italy where he played for a year before being picked up by the Bucks as the ninth pick in the 2009 draft. In fact, Carr has named Jennings as an example of how it can work out when he gave an interview in February.

“I think that was the right way for him (Jennings) to do what he had to do,” Carr said of Jennings in the February interview. “Now he can provide for his family more. I think that could be a possible way for me to provide for my family.”

However, some are saying that Jennings is a different animal, a top five in his class animal to be exact. While Aquille Carr is seen as a real talent, there are still question marks over his height (he stands just 5-foot 7-inches) and his apparent greediness on the court; so much so that ESPN has dropped him out of top 100 players for 2013.

Jennings himself has cautioned Carr against a move to Europe, and has said even though it worked out for him it is a tough road to take. The Bucks point guard offered advice during an interview with ESPN.

“It’s a totally different game,” Jennings told recruiting analyst Dave Telep. “If you look at his highlights, he’s really flashy. Over there, they don’t really play that. They’re about getting the job done and getting wins.
“If he plays at the top level, I don’t know how much playing time you’re really going to get. Their point guards over there are making starting point guard money in the NBA. They’re all about winning.”

While it worked for Jennings, most who have walked a similar path have found that they regretted not taking the easier path to the NBA of playing at least some college Basketball. The consensus that Carr could find it tough overseas is shared by Jonathan Givony, owner of DraftExpress, a scouting company that consults for several European clubs.

“I don’t see a lot of teams being interested in him overseas,” said Givony, who has watched Carr play a few times. “What he’s thinking about, the Brandon Jennings route where you’re making hundreds of thousands of dollars, I’d be very sceptical of that.”

Despite this, Givony did say he would expect that someone in Europe would take a chance on Carr, but he warned the American high school star that it may not be at the level he wants.

“But when you’re talking about European basketball, it’s important to understand there are so many levels to it,” he said. “There are guys playing for $1,000 a month and bus tickets, and there are guys playing for $300,000 a month who are treated like NBA players.”