Austin Carr

Austin George Carr (born March 10, 1948[1]) is an American former professional basketball player who played for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Dallas Mavericks, and Washington Bullets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is known by Cleveland basketball fans as "Mr. Cavalier". He was part of the Notre Dame team which defeated the UCLA Bruins on January 19, 1971, which was UCLA's last defeat until being beaten by Notre Dame exactly three years later, breaking the Bruins' NCAA men's basketball record 88-game winning streak.

This article is about a basketball player. For other uses, see Austin Carr (disambiguation).
Austin Carr
Carr in 2018
Personal information
Born (1948-03-10) March 10, 1948
Washington, D.C.
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight200 lb (91 kg)
Career information
High schoolMackin (Washington, D.C.)
CollegeNotre Dame (1968–1971)
NBA draft1971 / Round: 1 / Pick: 1st overall
Selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers
Playing career1971–1981
PositionGuard
Number22, 34
Career history
1971–1980Cleveland Cavaliers
1980Dallas Mavericks
1980–1981Washington Bullets
Career highlights and awards
Career statistics
Points10,473 (15.4 ppg)
Rebounds1,990 (2.9 rpg)
Assists1,878 (2.8 apg)
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
College Basketball Hall of Fame
Inducted in 2007

Early career

Carr grew up in Washington, D.C., and attended Holy Redeemer School, and later Mackin Catholic High School. At Mackin, Carr teamed with All-City guard Tom Little, who made some national All-American teams before starring at the University of Seattle. As a Junior All Met, Carr scored 475 points in 24 games. During Carr's All Met senior season, he scored 600 points and along with Sterling Savoy, led the Paul Furlong coached Trojans to the Catholic League title over DeMatha. Carr was named Parade All-American along with other 1967 seniors such as Artis Gilmore, Howard Porter, Jim McDaniels, and Curtis Rowe, all of whom became major college stars.

College career

The 6-foot 4-inch (1.93 m), 200 lb (91 kg) shooting guard first came to prominence as a highly recruited player for the University of Notre Dame, arriving after having scored more than 2,000 points during his high school career. Carr lived up to his lofty billing by ending his three-year career at Notre Dame with 2,560 points (an average of 34.5 points per game), ranking him fifth all-time in college basketball history at the time of his departure.[2] During his final two seasons, Carr became only the second college player ever to tally more than 1,000 points in a season, joining Pete Maravich in that select group. Carr holds NCAA tournament records for most points in one game (61 vs. Ohio in 1970), most field goals in one game (25), and most field goals attempted in one game (44). His record scoring average of 50 points per game in seven NCAA playoff games may never be broken. Recently, ESPN named Carr the 22nd greatest college basketball player of all time.[3]

NBA career

NBA draft

Carr moved onto the professional ranks as the first overall selection of the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 1971 NBA draft. Carr was also selected in the 1971 ABA Draft by the Virginia Squires, but signed with the Cavaliers on April 5, 1971.

Rookie season and early NBA career

Carr's first season in the NBA was marred by a series of injuries that limited his output. During the 1971 preseason, he broke his foot and missed the first month of the season. Less than one month after returning to the court, he was sidelined again by another foot injury, missing another seven weeks. Upon his return, he began to display the skills which made him the top selection in the NBA draft and was named to the 1972 NBA All-Rookie Team.[4] Following the conclusion of his first season, Carr had surgery to clear up any lingering foot problems.

The arrival of Lenny Wilkens prior to the start of the 1972–73 campaign gave Carr a solid partner in the backcourt, helping the Cavaliers improve by nine games in the win column. Carr's best season came the following year, when he averaged a career-best 21.9 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game while shooting 85.6% from the free-throw line.[4]

Two months into the 1974–75 season, he suffered a knee injury that put him out of the lineup indefinitely. His absence in the lineup likely prevented the Cavaliers' from capturing their first-ever playoff berth, with the team's bid falling one game short.

Miracle of Richfield and other playoff years (1975–1978)

However, during the next three seasons, Carr played a role in three straight playoff appearances for the team. Cleveland met the Boston Celtics in the 1976 Eastern Conference finals and lost in six games after defeating the Washington Bullets in the first round of the playoffs . They were eliminated in the first round of the 1977 playoffs by the Washington Bullets in a close three-game series. They were defeated in similar fashion in 1978, losing to the New York Knicks in two games.

Later career

Carr played out his final season with the Dallas Mavericks and Washington Bullets before retiring in 1981, finishing with career averages of 15.4 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game.[4]

NBA career statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

Regular season
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1971–72 Cleveland 43—35.8.426—.7603.53.4——21.2
1972–73 Cleveland 82—37.8.446—.8224.53.4——20.5
1973–74 Cleveland 81—38.3.445—.8563.63.81.1.221.9
1974–75 Cleveland 41—26.4.468—.8402.63.81.2.014.5
1975–76 Cleveland 65—19.7.442—.7912.01.9.6.010.1
1976–77 Cleveland 82—29.4.457—.7952.92.7.7.116.2
1977–78 Cleveland 82—26.7.438—.8132.32.7.8.212.3
1978–79 Cleveland 82—33.1.475—.8163.52.6.9.217.0
1979–80 Cleveland 77—20.7.465.333.7382.11.9.5.011.8
1980–81 Dallas 8—9.6.250—.5001.11.1.1.02.0
1980–81 Washington 39—14.9.388.000.6401.31.3.4.14.9
Career 682—28.8.449.154.8042.92.8.8.115.4
All-Star 105.0.000——1.0.0.0.0.0

Playoffs
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1976 Cleveland 13—21.0.478—.6111.82.0.5.211.8
1977 Cleveland 3—27.7.282—.3333.33.3.7.37.7
1978 Cleveland 2—34.5.370—.9384.02.51.0.517.5
Career 18—23.6.426—.6912.32.3.6.311.8

Post-playing career

Broadcasting career and other milestones
Austin Carr (left) and Fred McLeod calling a Cleveland Cavaliers game in 2012.

Today, Carr serves as the Director of Community Relations for the Cavaliers and is also a color commentator on the team's broadcasts on Fox Sports Ohio. Carr's #34 is one of seven jerseys retired by the Cavaliers.

It was announced on April 2, 2007, that Carr was inducted to the second class of the College Basketball Hall of Fame, along with Dick Groat, Dick Barnett and numerous coaches.

On February 21, 2008, Notre Dame recognized Carr, their all-time leading scorer, during the Pittsburgh – Notre Dame men's basketball game.[5]

Signature calls
  • He throws the hammer down! – for a Cavs slam dunk
  • He hits it deep in the Rock(or name of the arena for road games)! – for a Cavs three-pointer
  • Get that weak stuff outta here! – for a Cavs blocked shot[6]
  • He got him a bird – When a Cavs player gets an opponent to bite on a pump-fake
  • Mouse in the house – When a Cavs player is being guarded by a much smaller defender
  • There's a breeze in the building – When an opponent air balls a shot
  • He dots the i – When a Cavs player hits a mid-range jumper[7]
  • Too much pressure bursts the pipe – When the Cavs defense is wreaking havoc on the opposition
  • Right back in your face – When the Cavs score after the other team
  • Pressure will crack the Liberty Bell – When the Cavs are playing lockdown defense against the Philadelphia 76ers
  • He fed him a leather sandwich – When a Cavs player gets a block
  • They practice that one a lot, before practice and in practice -- When a Cavs player makes a step-back three-pointer

Awards and honors

College

Professional
  • 1972 NBA All-Rookie First Team[4]
  • 1974 NBA All-Star Game Selection[4]
  • 1980 recipient – Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award[10]
  • Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame Inductee (class of 1992)[11]
  • 2011 Greater Cleveland Sports Commission Lifetime Achievement Award[12]
  • Number retired by the Cleveland Cavaliers (#34)

Broadcasting

See also

References
  1. "Cavaliers All-Time Roster" (PDF). NBA.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 29, 2007. Retrieved August 8, 2007.
  2. Carr's stats – Sports Reference.com
  3. "25 Greatest Players In College Basketball". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on February 8, 2008. Retrieved February 14, 2008.
  4. Carr's stats – Basketball Reference.com
  5. "ND Basketball: A double shot of T-Jack". ndsmcobserver.com. Archived from the original on May 23, 2009. Retrieved February 22, 2008.
  6. Austin Carr Drinking Game – Waiting For Next Year.com
  7. Austin Carr drinking game – Shaver Sports.com
  8. College Basketball Hall of Fame Archived November 11, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  9. Carr inducted into ND's Ring of Honor – UND.com
  10. Cavs media guide – Cavs.com
  11. Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame
  12. Carr wins ward – Cleveland.com
  13. Carr's Emmy Award – NATAS Lower Great Lakes chapter
  14. 2017 Emmy Winners - NATAS Lower Great Lakes Chapter
  15. 2018 Emmy winneres - NATA Lower Great Lakes Chapter
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