As Coen Carr struggles to score beyond dazzling dunks, Michigan State basketball coach Tom Izzo vows to keep developing his junior forward's offense.
SEATTLE — It was another low-production game for Coen Carr, but Michigan State basketball coach Tom Izzo remains committed to his high-flying forward.
“It'll be a cold day in hell before I give up on Coen Carr,” Izzo said after the 12th-ranked Spartans’ 80-63 victory at Washington on Saturday, Jan. 17.
Carr scored just six points on 2-for-4 shooting with four rebounds, two assists and no turnovers. Carr, a 6-foot-6, 220-pound junior captain, is averaging 11 points and five rebounds a game for the season, making a deceptive 48.3% of his shots.
That's because 31 of his 71 made field goals have come on dunks, including a second-half alley-oop against the Huskies that gave the Spartans a 16-point lead with 3:44 to play. Carr also opened Saturday’s second half with just his second 3-pointer made in Big Ten play this season, and he is now shooting a dreadful 15.4% from beyond the arc in league games.
Carr’s scoring average has dipped to 8.4 points in seven conference games, and he has struggled at the free-throw line (59.3%) after missing 3 of 4 against the Huskies.
“Yeah, I am, I am worried about it,” Izzo said. “I feel for Coen, because I know how hard he's worked on it. I was so happy he made the one 3. He shoots his free throws, he's working on it. There's a couple things we're gonna work a little harder on when they play him like that, and that's gonna be on me.”
Since scoring a career-best 22 points on 8-for-13 shooting against Oakland on Dec. 20, Carr has taken more than 10 shots just once and more than six attempts twice, getting 19 points against Cornell and 18 against USC. He has 22 points in the other four games combined, including a season-low two points in MSU's lone Big Ten loss at Nebraska on Jan. 2.
Regardless of those struggles, MSU is two wins away from equaling its 18-2 start from a year ago, with Carr an integral piece of Izzo’s 11th Big Ten title and 11th Elite Eight appearance.
Playing more on the wing this season, he has improved as a defender while matching up with more athletic players than he did his first two seasons, when he was playing more power forward.
“Coen was great as far as his attitude, his defense,” Izzo said. “He's just not playing as well offensively. We're gonna fight through that.”
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Contact Chris Solari: [email protected]. Follow him @chrissolari.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tom Izzo: 'It'll be a cold day in hell before I give up on Coen Carr'
Category: General Sports
