BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Penn State guard Tony Carr was selected by New Orleans in the second round, the 51st pick overall, of the 2018 NBA Draft. The Philadelphia native and Roman Catholic High School product became the Nittany Lions’ first draft pick since 1999 when center Calvin Booth was a second-round choice of the Washington Wizards.
“It felt great — you can’t really put a feeling to it until you experience it,” said Carr about the experience of being at the 2018 NBA Draft at the Barclays Center. "Just to hear my name called was a dream come true.”
Just the second Penn State sophomore to earn first-team All-Big Ten honors, Carr led the Nittany Lions in scoring in each of the last two seasons, with 19.6 points per game and 5.0 assists per contest in 2017-18. He averaged 20.1 points per game as the Big Ten Conference’s scoring champion in league games. Carr became the first Penn State men’s basketball player to achieve the 1,000 career point milestone as a sophomore.
“We couldn’t be more thrilled for Tony and know that he will be a valuable asset to the New Orleans organization,” said Penn State Coach Patrick Chambers. “Tony’s contributions to the men’s basketball team, and his commitment to Penn State, were key to helping us build this program and set the course for an exciting future.”
A first-team all-district pick by the National Association of Basketball Coaches and U.S. Basketball Writers Association, Carr was named to the 2018 National Invitation Tournament (NIT) all-tournament team and helped lead the Nittany Lions to the NIT championship. During Penn State’s postseason title run, he averaged 17.4 points, 6.2 rebounds and 7.0 assists per contest. Carr was instrumental in the Nittany Lions posting 26 victories, the second-highest total in program history, and advancing to the Big Ten Tournament semifinals.
Carr joins Nittany Lion alumnus Tim Frazier in the NBA. Frazier spent the 2017-18 season with the Washington Wizards, and 2016-17 and part of the 2015-16 season with New Orleans. Other Penn Staters on professional rosters include D.J. Newbill (New Zealand Sky Breakers), Donovan Jack (Bayer Giants Leverkusen), and Brandon Taylor (Jamtland, Sweden).
The eighth Penn State player drafted by an NBA team in the program’s history, Carr is the third Nittany Lion guard to be selected, following Bob Weiss in 1965 (third round, Philadelphia) and Ron Brown (seventh round, Boston) in 1974. Weiss went on to have a 13-year career playing for Philadelphia, Seattle, Milwaukee, Chicago, Buffalo and Washington.
The Nittany Lions open the 2018-19 season on Friday, Nov. 9, against North Florida. For information or to make a 2018-19 Penn State men's basketball season ticket deposit, visit GoPSUsports.com/climbwithus or call 1-800-NITTANY weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.