Mark Pope says Andrew Carr went 5 straight practices without missing a shot

During his Thursday morning appearance on KSR, Mark Pope touched on several of his players on Kentucky’s 2024-25 roster. But none received more praise from the new head coach than 6-foot-11 big man Andrew Carr.

“On our team right now, as a staff, we’re like we have to go get the ball to Andrew Carr more often,” Pope said. “Andrew Carr actually had a stretch this summer where he went five days of practice straight… where he did not miss a single field goal. Not a single one. We’re like we’ve got to find more ways to get the ball in his hands.”

Five straight days of practice without a miss? Carr’s offseason is starting to sound a bit like Travis Perry‘s, who made headlines in the summer after making 100 straight free throws across three consecutive days of practice (Pope confirmed Perry’s numbers to be true, as well).

Jokes aside, it’s becoming crystal clear that Carr will play a major role on Pope’s first Kentucky team. Pope has been high on the floor-stretching forward ever since bringing him over as a transfer from Wake Forest. At one stage in the offseason, he mentioned having Carr fill a “Lauri Markkanen-type role” with the Wildcats. We’re to the point where it feels safe to mark Carr down as the starting four in pen.

It makes sense too. Carr is an easy fit in Pope’s fast-paced, shoot-them-all offensive style. Last season at Wake Forest, he averaged 13.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per game while shooting 52.6 percent from the floor and 37.1 percent from deep on 2.8 attempts. The graduate student is a career 34.4 percent outside shooter.

“Andrew Carr is born to play for me,” Pope said back in May.

Carr also blocked 1.5 shots per game last season with the Deamon Deacons, so he’ll ideally provide some juice on defense too. But his bread and butter is on the offensive side of the floor. Surrounded by quality passers and shooters at nearly every position, Carr should thrive in Pope’s system.

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