Penn State enjoyed its first pick of the modern NBA Draft era dating back to Calvin Booth Thursday evening when Tony Carr was selected No. 51 overall in the second round to New Orleans.
Tony Carr's dream became a reality Thursday night.
Selected at 11:41 p.m., the former Nittany Lion point guard went No. 51 overall to the New Orleans Pelicans, the 21st pick in the second round of the NBA Draft.
Penn State’s leading scorer last season, Carr averaged 19.6 points and 5.0 assists per game, earning a first-team All-Big Ten selection in the process. His sophomore season performance, one that included not only statistical accomplishment but also game-winning playmaking in three upsets of top-15 ranked Ohio State, Carr finished among the most accomplished point guards in Penn State history.
For his career, he finished with 1,161 points, and ultimately helped lead the Nittany Lions to their second NIT championship in school history.
"Tony Carr set the standard for sure, for the current team and for future Penn Staters, future Nittany Lions," said head coach Patrick Chambers upon Carr's announcement to forego his final two seasons of eligibility. "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, and we would never want to do that.
"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 developed over his two years here, but I think it's going to be a win-win for everybody, for Tony and for this program."
