Kenny Carr

Kenneth Alan Carr (born August 15, 1955) is an American former basketball player.

Carr was a 1974 graduate of DeMatha Catholic in Hyattsville, Maryland, where he played under Hall of Fame coach Morgan Wootten.

As a sophomore, he suffered a knee injury.

At DeMatha, Carr was teammates with Hall of Famer Adrian Dantley, who graduated a year ahead of Carr.

The two would become Olympic teammates and college and NBA rivals.

While teammates at DeMatha, Carr and Dantley led DeMatha to a 36 game winning streak.

Carr played at North Carolina State at the varsity level from 1974–1977 under coach Norm Sloan.

As a freshman in 1974–1975, Carr averaged 13.8 points and 7.7 rebounds as NC State finished 22–6.

NC State was defending National Champions, with Carr playing alongside Hall of Famer David Thompson, Phil Spence, Monte Towe and Tim Stoddard among others.

In 1975–1976 Carr averaged a double-double with 26.6 points, 10.3 rebounds along with 2.1 assists.

He led the ACC in scoring as NC State finished 21–9, with Thompson having graduated and moved to the ABA's Denver Nuggets.

Carr was named a Third team All-American – UPI, AP and NABC and First-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference.

A 6'7" forward from North Carolina State University, Carr won a gold medal with the United States national basketball team at the 1976 Summer Olympics. Carr played in the NBA from 1977 to 1987 with the Lakers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons, and Portland Trail Blazers. Carr scored 7,813 (11.6) points in his NBA career and grabbed 4,999 (7.4) rebounds.

As a youth, Carr was primarily a football player growing up in Washington, D.C., and did not play serious basketball until he was 14-years-old.

"It was kind of by accident, to be honest, but I just fell in love with basketball," Carr recalled.

"Plus, back in those days, it was kind of tough to find football shoes that would fit me, to tell the truth."

As a junior, Carr averaged 21.0 points and 9.9 rebounds as NC State finished 17–11 in 1976–1977, with Carr playing alongside freshman Hawkeye Whitney.

Carr led the ACC in scoring again and was named a third team All-American – UPI and First-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference He declared for the NBA draft after the season.

"I just thought my body and my game was ready to move on," Carr said of leaving college early.

"I was a very physical player and I would get a lot of fouls. I was a little bigger and more aggressive than most people I played against. I got frustrated, and I figured it was time to move on."

In 86 career games for North Carolina State, Carr averaged 20.6 points, 9.2 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.5 steals, shooting 51% from the floor and 68% from the line.

"Kenny was a great, great player," reflected long-time N.C. State sports information director Frank Weedon.

"But he was so stoic and never showed any emotions, and I think people forget about him. He may have been the second greatest player to ever play here, behind David (Thompson)."

Carr was selected to the 1976 United States men's Olympic basketball team which represented the USA in the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal.

Team USA captured the Gold Medal.

Team USA was coached by Dean Smith, assisted by Bill Guthridge and John Thompson.

In six Olympic Games, Carr averaged 6.8 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.0 assists.

Carr was the sixth leading scorer behind his high school teammate Adrian Dantley (19.3), Scott May (16.7), Mitch Kupchak (12.5), Phil Ford (11.3) and Quinn Buckner (7.3).

The roster also included future NBA players Walter Davis, Phil Hubbard and Ernie Grunfeld.

"I just enjoyed throwing the ball up with some of the best players in the world," Carr said of his Olympic experience.

"The best competition we had was in training camp. I think the best time of the whole thing was when we were in Chapel Hill and we would just get up and play every day. That is the most fun I have ever had."

Carr was drafted in the first round (sixth overall) of the 1977 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Lakers and played ten seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Carr was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round (6th overall) of the 1977 NBA draft.

As a rookie power forward, he broke a metatarsal bone in his left foot in the team's final preseason game.

He was lost for over 5 weeks, appearing in 52 games, while averaging 6.2 points and 4.0 rebounds.

On August 3, 1978, he broke his right foot in a pick-up game of basketball before the start of his second season.

He recovered to appear in 72 games, averaging 7.4 points and 4.1 rebounds.

In the 1979–80 championship season, he was a backup behind Spencer Haywood and Jim Chones.

He appeared in 5 of the first 6 contests, averaging 3.2 points, 3.4 rebounds and 11.4 minutes.

On October 24, 1979, he was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers, in exchange for a 1980 2nd round draft pick (#31-Wayne Robinson) and a 1981 2nd round draft choice (#28-Gene Banks).