What Tennessee players said about Cam Carr's decision to leave Vols, enter NCAA Transfer Portal
Zakai Zeigler didn’t have a cross word to say about Cam Carr Monday night. Tennessee’s senior point guard voiced his support for his former teammate after Carr left the program earlier in the day with intentions to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal.
“His decision is his decision at the end of the day,” Zeigler said after scoring 17 points and recording a career-high 15 assists in an 82-64 win over MTSU at Food City Center. “He is his own person. We can wish him nothing but the best.”
Head coach Rick Barnes didn’t mince words during his postgame press conference. Barnes said he had no discussions with Carr before he made his decision, saying he “just walked out.”
“We were obviously counting on him being part of the team,” Barnes said. “Surprised his teammates. They were very disappointed. So from here on, there is nothing to really talk about. He made his decision. No reason. It’s baffling to be quite honest with you.”
Tennessee down to nine scholarship players available
He apparently did address his teammates one way or another on his way out.
“Definitely wish him the best,” Chaz Lanier said after scoring a team-high 23 points against MTSU. “He just told us he loves us and that he felt like it was the best opportunity for him.”
“I wouldn’t say unexpected,” Zeigler added, “or (I) expected it or anything like that. But like I said before just wishing him the best.”
Carr averaged 4.8 points and 1.5 rebounds in 10.3 minutes per game off the bench over the first four games of the season. He had four points and one rebound in nine minutes against Austin Peay, when he suffered the thumb injury, after scoring a career-high 13 points in 16 minutes against Montana in the 92-57 win November 13.
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He had been sidelined since November 17 with a ligament injury in his left thumb that required surgery.
Rick Barnes: Cam Carr was going to ‘have to earn his way back’ after injury
Carr’s departure leaves Tennessee with eight scholarship players currently available. The Vols started the season with 11, out of a possible 13, and have since lost Carr to his transfer decision and sophomore center JP Estrella to season-ending foot surgery in November.
Freshman guard Bishop Boswell didn’t dress for the MTSU game after injuring his right shoulder last week against Western Carolina.
Carr had the cast removed last week and had been doing individual work during Tennessee’s recent open practices, seemingly ramping his way up to a return from the thumb injury, which carried a timeline of 4-6 weeks.
“He was going to have to earn his way back,” Barnes said of Carr’s playing time had he returned. “We talked about that this week with everybody because we wanted everybody to do it.”
