Kenny Carr

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

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.

Early years

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."

College career Carr played at North Carolina State at the varsity level from 1974 to 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. 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 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. 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).

In just over two seasons (129 games), he never lived up to his draft expectations, averaging 6.8 points, 4.0 rebounds and 15 minutes of playing time.

Cleveland Cavaliers (1979–1982) In the 1979–80 season, he was named a starter at power forward, raising his averages to 11.8 points and 7.4 rebounds. In the 1980–81 season, he was the league's sixth-leading rebounder with a 10.3 average, while scoring 15.2 points per contest.

On February 16, 1982, he was traded along with Bill Laimbeer to the Detroit Pistons, in exchange for power forward Phil Hubbard, center Paul Mokeski, a 1982 1st round draft pick (#12-John Bagley) and a 1982 2nd round draft choice (#28-Dave Magley).

"To me, Kenny was one of those players that was ahead of his time," said former North Carolina, NBA rival and 1976 Olympic teammate Phil Ford about Carr. "Now, it's not uncommon to see someone with Kenny's size and strength with the ability to play on the perimeter and knock in jump shots or put the ball on the deck and drive to the basket. When we were coming along, guys with Kenny's strength and size always played inside. He was just a little before his time."

Carr had intended to return to his hometown of Washington, D.C., but the success of his business and his three children has kept him in Oregon."My kids liked being here, and we were settled," Carr said. "Once that happens, you don't necessarily live your life for yourself anymore. You make compromises."