Carr finds right road at Louisville -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 

CHRISLYN CARR ACC PLAYER OF WEEK

(Looks like Carr is 'having a ball' at Louisville) 

The road that Chrislyn Carr has travelled as been a bit of a bumpy one, with stops at four different colleges, some big successes, the COVID pause and a bit of sightseeing in the great land of ours before she landed at Louisville for her graduate season. With her recent ACC Player of the Week honor, though, it would appear the 5'5" Davenport, IA point guard has found a road that is making her collegiate journey back a successful one. 

Her spectacular performance against DePaul was arguably the best outing of her time in college. She scored 21 points, and grabbed 17 rebounds in the Cards 81-67 win against the Blue Demons. Those 17 rebounds were the second most by a guard in the NCAA this season, and tops in the ACC for a guard. And, they were all defensive rebounds, over half of the Cards defensive rebounds for the contest. 

Chrislyn Carr is 5'5". I'll repeat that. 5'5" 

Carr's journey in basketball began at West High School in Davenport, Iowa . Right off the bat, it was obvious she was something special. She set the school record for points scored when she was a freshman (46), and followed that up with 43 points in a game as a sophomore. 

Rock Island, Illinois is right across the Mississippi River from Davenport Illinois and Carr's. family made that 5 mile move to the east when she was a junior in high school. At Rock Island, she was a two-time All-Conference player and a First Team all-state player. 

It was enough to get Texas Tech, among many other schools, interested...and that's where she headed for her freshman 2018-19 season. She was the Big 12 Freshman of the Year and averaged 18 points a game. She was All-Big 12 Honorable mention her sophomore year and averaged 13,9 points.  

Marlene Stollings was replaced as head coach in Carr's junior year and Carr left after five games to try her skills for Kim Mulkey at Baylor, She did not play during that season of 2020-21 at Baylor, there were questions about eligibility and she left after the season to be one of six transfers to join Syracuse, along with six freshmen for the 2021-22 season. 

Chrislyn was the starting point guard for the Orange and played in all 29 games. She averaged 14.2 points per game as a Orange for a year, but entered the transfer portal again at the end of the 2021-22 season and UofL wooed her to the Belknap Campus and a Cardinals uniform. 

A lot of travelling. I wonder if she's heard the Johnny Cash song "I've Been Everywhere, Man"? 

I've Been Everywhere, Man

At, Louisville...she saw the promise of playing with one of the nation's best scoring guards in Hailey Van Lith, excellent transfer Morgan Jones and the Cards strong front line contingent of Olivia Cochran, Liz Dixon and Josie Williams. She also saw the immediate need for her services as a point-guard. That became even clearer when Ahlana Smith left Louisville to follow Sam Purcell to Mississippi State. 

It was more than that, though. At Louisville, she was going to play for a coach who had Final Four experience, who got players to the WNBA and promoted and fostered a winning attitude. It would be different that the failed experiment at Baylor, where Mulkey sat her and then dashed off to go to LSU for the 2021-22 season (for a whole bunch of money) and to where she got her start as a player and assistant coach in the state (at Louisiana Tech).. it was also a chance for Mulkey to test the best in the SEC. and, in her words, go home.  

Walz told us that there might be a few rough bumps to smooth out in the 2022-23 season. It takes work and time to get a team together. And, the Cards appear to have survived the rough and unsteady early road and are benefitting from a brand new "Carr" who's helping drive the team, as they head into ACC play. Beware, ACC. Carr is rolling and poses a powerful 1-2 punch with Van Lith. 

Cards got guards and they're a dangerous bunch of birds when they do. 

Ask Dana. Or A.D... or Angel or Shoni. See what Monique, Kianna, Jude or Arica have to say about it...Ask Bria, J.J., Becky or Tia....they'll tell you. When the Cards are on a roll, it's usually the Cards guards that are assuming control.  

paulie