UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Penn State's Tony Carr delivered the news to his teammates first, ending months of internal dialogue, speculation and conversations with his parents and the coaching staff.
His dream is to play in the NBA, and Carr, the sophomore who led the Nittany Lions to an NIT championship and also led the Big Ten in scoring with 19.9 points per game, announced Monday that his time at Penn State has come to an end. He plans to sign with an agent and declare for the NBA draft.
"I've thought about this very, very, very long and hard and talked about this with my mom and dad and thought it over with my coaches, and we just came to the conclusion that the best thing for me moving forward is to make that move to the NBA," said Carr, who was seated alongside his mom, dad and Pat Chambers. "I definitely have the intent of signing with an agent."
Tony Carr on his decision to turn pro pic.twitter.com/DZOFcr7EDu
— Audrey Snyder (@audsnyder4) April 2, 2018
Carr said the feedback he's received about his NBA future has "mostly" been positive, and while he gave it some consideration to test the draft waters and not sign with an agent — something he could've done and then decided in June whether or not he would return to school or turn pro — ultimately, he said, his dream is to get drafted, and he wanted to chase that dream now.
Carr, a projected late first to early second-round pick, said those draft projections were all he needed to hear.
"The information I received after the Big Ten tournament was glowing," Chambers said. "Anywhere from 15-30, anywhere from 25-35. How can I prevent a kid from living his dream? How can I prevent somebody who has a great opportunity to help his family? You can't do that. Tony was very mature about it. He kept telling me, 'I'm focused, I'm here, I'm present. You don't have to worry about me, I won't think about that until the end of the season, and I think that's why we were able to cut down some nets too."
As teammates filled the back of the Bryce Jordan Center media room to watch Carr meet with reporters, Lamar Stevens, one of Carr's closest friends and his high school teammate, clapped along with the rest of them. As Stevens stood up at the end of the media session, he said yes, he's aware and ready to carry the load next season.
Big man Mike Watkins, another Philadelphia product, laughed and hugged Carr, the former Roman Catholic standout who was part of a Philadelphia-to-Penn State pipeline that helped move the program one step forward.
Tony Carr and Mike Watkins in the hallway after Carr met with the media. pic.twitter.com/I2vLJ1QRFo
— Audrey Snyder (@audsnyder4) April 2, 2018
"We just told him, 'Hey, whatever you do, decision you make, nothing is going to change. We're all still brothers until the end,' " senior Shep Garner told me. Garner, who also went to Roman Catholic, helped pave the way for Carr to even consider Penn State. "This basketball stuff makes brotherhoods. It makes stuff that lasts forever. We just told him whatever decision you make, we're going to ride with you."
While teammates congratulated Carr and his parents in the hallway, there's no denying that — selfishly for the Penn State program — this decision takes a team that could've started next season ranked in the top 25 and makes it much more vulnerable.
Still, for a program that has never dealt with a player leaving early for the NBA, this gives Chambers and staff another selling point when dealing with prospects. For a staff that had to build inroads to Philadelphia in hopes of landing prospects there, getting Carr NBA-ready in two years certainly helps the staff's case when vying for other prospects.
"Tony Carr set the standard for sure," Chambers said. "We're going to miss him, but I think this is awesome. It's great for his family, his mom, his dad, his cousins that are here in the back and his friends. It's a dream come true. In no way, shape or form can we stand in the way of anybody's dreams, and we would never want to do that. ... It's going to hurt me, especially because of the relationship I've developed over his two years here, but I think it's going to be a win-win for everybody, both Tony and this program."