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T ime can't pass quickly enough for Tony Carr. Not that he wasn't busy this past summer; he was. Working daily to make individual improvements alongside his Nittany Lion teammates, Carr maintained a busy off-season itin- erary that also included additional team practices and a foreign tour to the Ba- hamas, as well as a five-day trip to Los Angeles in August for the Nike Basketball Academy, an invitation he earned by virtue of his status as one of the nation's elite, up-and-coming college players. Yet with Penn State having finished a disappointing 15-18 overall in his debut season last year, falling far short of the team goals and expectations set before his arrival on campus, Carr has spent his off-season fix- ated on making a return to the hardwood. "I've been pretty much counting down the days since last season ended," Carr said. "We've been working hard all off-sea- son. We're getting ready." On Oct. 2, Carr and his teammates will get that chance, as preseason practices begin in earnest at the Bryce Jordan Center. Little more than one month later, on Nov. 5, the Nittany Lions will host Bloomsburg for an exhibition game, followed by the season tip-off against Campbell on Nov. 10. Having memorized those dates, the sophomore point guard is eager to get started, in part because of the intensity of his off-season of preparation. In a departure from past operating pro- cedure, the Nittany Lions remained on campus as a team through both of Penn State's academic summer sessions in ad- vance of their trip to the Bahamas. Bol- stered by those additional days together, the team took advantage of the extra op- portunities for strength work, running and conditioning, and that physical preparation also helped build chemistry and co- hesion. All the while, missed opportunities from the 2016-17 campaign weighed heavily. The Nittany Lions were routed by Michigan State, 78-51, in the second round of the Big Ten tournament to end their season, but it was the close losses that really stung. The Lions went 1-6 during the regular season in games that either were decided by a single possession or went to overtime, and those losses continued to haunt players months later. Carr was determined to put all that be- hind him, and by the end of the summer, he felt that he and his teammates had done just that. "We worked so much harder as a team because we don't want to be in that same boat and have those bad feelings like we did last year," he said. "The ball didn't bounce our way. We were kind of young and we haven't been in those situations that much, but we just took everything as a learning experience and we're going to grow as a team. Hopefully this year, we'll go into those situations with more expe- rience and more knowledge of how to handle it. We just want to put ourselves in the best position possible by working hard every day." Individually, Carr dedicated himself to the avenues most likely to bring more successful outcomes in the season ahead, even though he was pleased with the pos- itive feedback he received in the form of postseason recognition. As a freshman, he started all 33 games and averaged a team-high 13.1 points and 4.2 assists. He was named to the Big Ten's All-Freshman team and earned honorable mention All-Conference recognition. But he was not as accurate as he wanted to be. Carr shot an underwhelming 37.7 percent from the field and 32 percent from 3- point range. The upside to those numbers was that they left Carr with a very clear indication of what he needed to work on during the off-season. "Absolutely, my shooting percentages have been a key focus – just making sure I follow through on all of my shots," he said. "Those things hopefully are going to go up during the season, but I'm definitely working hard this off-sea- son on my shooting form, following through, jumping on every shot. Hope- fully that sends my percentages upward." Carr also focused on his conditioning after a freshman season that tested his stamina. He averaged 32.8 minutes per game, more than any other player on the team and the ninth-highest total in the Big Ten, and he admitted that fatigue at times affected his performances, espe- WORKING VACATION Tony Carr is looking to parlay o-season improvements into on-court success UP TO THE CHALLENGE Over the summer, Carr focused on refin- ing his shot and improving his conditioning. Photo by Mark Selders/Penn State Athletics | M E N ' S B A S K E T B A L L

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