Remember high scoring, highlight reel high school point guard Aquille Carr, who was once one of the most sought after players in the 2013 recruiting class?
Although he is only 5’7, he regularly showed off some insane handles, took pride in posterizing much taller defenders, and even made a commitment to attend Seton Hall University this Fall.
He even has a cool nickname like the “Crimestopper” because when he played, he was so popular that he reduced crime rates around his native Baltimore, Maryland.
But everything changed after he was arrested for assaulting his longtime girlfriend in the Summer of 2012, changed high schools multiple times prior to his senior season, and then eventually decided to skip playing collegiate and earn some money playing overseas in China.
China has been a popular landing spot for a number of current and former NBA stars like Allen Iverson, Stephon Marbury, and JR Smith as they boast a fairly high level of competition and NBA players are regularly worshiped.
But it has been former NBA scoring champion and last a member of the San Antonio Spurs, Tracy McGrady that has not only taken an interest in Carr, but has been a mentor and de facto agent during the signing of the former HS star’s first contract overseas.
In his lone season playing 32 games for the Quingdao Double Eagles of the Chinese Basketball Association, T-Mac was a fan favorite and a highlight reel regular as he dropped 30 points on opponents before signing with the Spurs prior to this postseason.
Many questioned whether such a diminutive player’s skill set would translate to the NCAA or pro levels, so earlier this year, Carr announced that he was also taking his talents to the Chinese Basketball League.
Upon receiving his first contract offer, McGrady who was back in China playing as part of an All Star Legends Tour with Jason Williams and Bonzi Wells, stepped in and helped broker a fair and balanced deal with guaranteed money and a spot on the team for next season.
With his playing career seemingly over, maybe T-Mac can become a full time agent like Jay-Z……
Aquille Carr Drops 52 Points in final HS Game:
Allen Moll has been a lifelong NBA and NCAA College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously, and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. Allen has also provided content to Bleacherreport.com, Upperdeckblog.com, Cleveland.com, CSN Philly.com, Buckets Magazine, in addition to being a tenured NBA and NCAA columnist for TheHoopDoctors.com.
