Transfer Carroll leads basketball
Published Nov. 2, 2007
Missouri's basketball team is getting more hype than usual this season, and that is largely due to junior DeMarre Carroll. The 6-foot-8-inch, 225 pound forward from Birmingham, Ala., played his freshman and sophomore seasons at Vanderbilt before deciding to play for his uncle, coach Mike Anderson, at Missouri.
In the Black and Gold game Tuesday night at Mizzou Arena, Carroll led the Black squad to a 101-95 win and led the team with 29 points and 11 rebounds. Carroll struggled in the first half, but in the second half alone he had seven rebounds and 23 points.
"In the first half, I was anxious because I just wanted to go out there and please the fans," Carroll said. "At halftime, coach Anderson came in and told me to just do my thing, so I was much more relaxed in the second half."
Rivals.com recently named Carroll the best transfer in the Big 12 and the third best transfer in the nation.
"It's a great honor, but at the same time, you can't pay attention to all that," he said. "You just got to go out there and play your game."
Carroll said fans can expect to see a lot of exciting basketball that hasn't been seen in awhile.
"Expect me to do the dirty work," he said.
Anderson said Carroll's main strengths are his toughness and leadership skills. "A guy like DeMarre Carroll brings a lot of toughness to the court," Anderson said. "He's one of the most athletic players in the country, and he has that attitude of never giving up."
According to NCAA rules, when a student transfers schools, he or she is required to sit out a year.
The Black and Gold game was Carroll's first since March 2006.
"It felt real good to get back out there," Carroll said.
The Black squad trailed by eight points at one time in the first half, but with the help of Carroll, senior forward Marshall Brown and sophomore guard Keon Lawrence, the Black squad was able to make a run at the end of the first half to take the lead by 44-42 going into halftime. Brown finished with 24 points in the game, and Lawrence finished with 19 points.
"This is the last fun night from here on out," Anderson said.
Sophomore guard J.T. Tiller and junior guard Matt Lawrence led the Gold squad with 24 points each. The closely contested scrimmage involved six lead changes and the score was tied five times. Anderson said there were more turnovers in the first half between the two teams than there were assists. That was not the problem in the second half, though. While both offenses had strong second halves, the defenses struggled.