Blue White Illustrated

T ony Carr's dream became a reality on June 21. Carr, who in April announced that he was forgoing his last two seasons at Penn State, was selected in the second round of the NBA Draft by the New Orleans Pelicans. Calling it "the greatest feeling of my life," the 6-foot-5 point guard was cho- sen with the No. 51 pick overall, becoming the first Penn State player to be drafted since 1999, when Calvin Booth went in the second round to Washington. Pelicans general manager Dell Demps told reporters in New Orleans that the team had been watching Carr closely throughout his college career. "He's a guy who's been on the radar for us," Demps said. "Bryson Graham, our di- rector of scouting, was really talking about him all the way back to the Nike camp last year. We like his size, we like his ability to make plays, his IQ , that he's 6- 5. We'll see him in summer league and are really looking forward to that." The second-leading scorer in the Big Ten last season, Carr averaged 19.6 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game, earning a first-team All-Confer- ence nod in the process. He repeatedly came up big in Penn State's three upset victories over nationally ranked Ohio State and became the first sophomore in school history to surpass 1,000 career points, finishing with 1,161. "Tony Carr set the standard for sure, for the current team and for future Penn Staters," head coach Patrick Chambers said following Carr's announcement that he was turning pro. "We're going to miss him, but I think this is awesome. I think it's great for his family, his dad and his mom and his cousins and his friends. I think it's just a dream come true, and in no way, shape or form can we stand in the way of anybody's dreams. "So I think it's a win-win. It's going to hurt me because we're going to miss Tony, especially the relationship that we've de- veloped over his two years here, but I think it's going to be a win-win for every- body, for Tony and for this program." New Orleans went into the draft with nine guards on its roster, two of whom – Rajon Rondo and Ian Clark – are free agents. Demps said the decision to select Carr with the Pelicans' first and only pick in the two-round draft was based on the team's belief that he was the best avail- able athlete. "We think he can play multiple posi- tions," Demps said. "He's got a pretty good frame. I don't want to get too excited about it. I want to see what he does when we get him in here live, see how he reacts with our coaches and when we put him in a pro system, against competition. "He's got a big hill to climb. There's no guarantee that he's on our roster this year. He might be a guy we do different things with. Not sure. The important thing is not to get ahead of [ourselves]. He's going to have to come in and compete. We'll give him every opportunity to be success- ful." –NATE BAUER Seeking versatility, Pelicans pick Carr in NBA Draft M E N ' S B A S K E T B A L L FREEMAN JOINS STAFF Kevin Free- man, who won a national champi- onship as a player at Connecticut and another as a member of the school's basketball administration, has joined Penn State's staff as an assistant to Patrick Chambers. Freeman comes to University Park after spending the previous seven years as the director of basketball adminis- tration for the Huskies. He fills a va- cancy that opened up when Dwayne Anderson left to become director of basketball operations at Villanova. A native of Springfield, Mass., Free- man was part of the staff that guided Connecticut to the 2014 NCAA cham- pionship and 2016 American Athletic Conference title, overseeing NCAA compliance, travel and practice sched- ules. He rejoined his alma mater in 2011 after an 11-year pro basketball ca- reer that included stops in Venezuela, Italy, Australia, Greece, South Korea, China, Puerto Rico and Spain. Freeman was a multiyear starting forward for Connecticut, as the Huskies advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight in 1998 and posted a 34-2 record en route to their first national champi- onship the following season. LIONS LAND TRANSFER Penn State has added a transfer from Villanova, but not from its NCAA championship- winning men's basketball team. In May, the Lions welcomed Kyle Mc- Closkey, a two-sport athlete in high school who played football for the Wild- cats but will play basketball at PSU. McCloskey, who stands 6-foot-5, 210 pounds, captained both the football and basketball teams at Germantown Academy as a senior. He was the ;rst Philadelphia-area athlete to throw for 3,000 yards in football and score at least 1,000 career points in basketball. A ;rst-team All-State pick in basket- ball, McCloskey averaged 21 points and 11 rebounds per game his senior season and helped lead the Patriots to four consecutive 20-win seasons. McCloskey was a four-year starter for the basketball team and was se- lected ;rst-team All-Conference as a junior and senior. Named MVP as a senior, he ;nished his career with more than 1,400 points and 900 rebounds. He is the fourth member of his imme- diate family to attend Penn State. His father, Mike, was a tight end on the Nit- tany Lion football team and also played in the NFL for Houston and Philadel- phia. His mother, Mimi, competed in track for the Lions, and his sister Megan recently concluded her career as a high jumper with Penn State's track and ;eld team. Another sister, Kiernan, played basketball at Lehigh. McCloskey, who threw for 242 yards and three touchdowns in his lone sea- son as a quarterback at Villanova, will be eligible to play immediately for the Nittany Lions. He is listed as a fresh- man on the team's roster. ■ N O T E B O O K

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