Aquille Carr leaves his mark at Elite 24
After all the controversy that surrounded Aquille Carr's participation in Saturday's Boost Mobile Elite 24 basketball showcase, the Patterson star made the most of his trip to Venice, Calif.
Carr had 21 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds after starting at point guard for the "Raymond Lewis" squad, which lost to the "Marques Johnson" team 142-132.
Carr -- who's affectionately referred to as "The Crime Stopper" -- for clearing the streets with his must-see talents, actually played a part in stopping the game for a short while.
In pregame warmups, Carr tossed an alley-opp off the backboard to power forward Mitch McGary, whose ensuing dunk shattered the backboard, delaying the start of the game.
“After that I thought it was about to be on,” the 5-foot-6 junior Carr told ESPN. “That got me hyped so I just knew that I was about to do my thing and my team was gonna get the win.”
They didn't actually get the win, but in a showcase like the Elite 24, making an impression is usually more important than an actual victory.
McGary -- a senior from New Hampshire who is considering Maryland, Florida, North Carolina, Michigan, Duke and Kentucky -- needed to be bandaged up after falling to the ground among the shattered glass, and he didn't play. But that will probably just be a footnote to his pregame dunk, which is already making its rounds on the highlight shows.
Justin Anderson, a swingman from Montrose Christian scored 23 points for the winning team. He shared MVP honors with Kyle Anderson, a senior forward at St. Anthony (Jersey City, N.J.) who had 18 points and eight assists.
“They just had their transition game going and we were a little out of sync out there," Carr told ESPN. "But honestly I’m not even mad about it. This is one of the best experiences I’ve ever been a part of. I’m grateful to have played at all.”
Carr had considered skipping the game after the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association told him this week that playing could affect his high school eligibility. He decided to make the trip and was cleared to participate by the MPSSAA on Friday.
VIDEO: Aquille Carr highlights
