Minnesota Guard Marcus Carr Enters Transfer Portal

Earlier in the Week the Gophers got some bad news when freshman guard Jamal Mashburn Jr. became the second player to announce they were entering the transfer portal (reserve Jarvis Omersa made the same announcement earlier in the week). With Minnesota moving on from head coach Richard Pitino it’s not exactly a huge surprise that some players will leave, though the departure of a promising guard in Mashburn stung a bit for Gopher fans.

Well things just got a whole lot worse.

Marcus Carr was the best player on Minnesota all season, averaging 19.4 points and 4.9 assists per game while also shooting 31.7% from three. In an up and down season Carr was the one consistent for Pitino and if the team could have found some more success around Carr they would have likely been an NCAA Tournament team.

The loss of Carr, who is now considered to be the top transfer currently on the market, absolutely decimates the Gophers backcourt. It also makes the departure of freshman Jamal Mashburn Jr., who came on strong down the stretch after Gabe Kalscheur was hurt, even more problematic. With players not losing a year of eligibility this season and the NCAA expected to ease transfer restrictions, whoever gets hired at Minnesota will likely have options. But the loss of Carr and Mashburn currently leaves Minnesota very, very thin on talent.

There’s been some speculation that Carr has been eyeing the NBA and the possibility of declaring for the draft after the season. Entering the portal will keep his options open and likely means he’s trying to land somewhere that will help him get to the next level.

Carr originally started his career at Pitt before transferring to Minnesota. With all players not losing a year of eligibility for this season, Carr will have two years of eligibility remaining.