SE: Carr Learning to be More Composed, Patient for K-State WBB
Feb 13, 2019 | Women's Basketball, Sports Extra
By Corbin McGuire
Christianna Carr used to shoot the ball or attack the rim without much hesitation or thought. This worked as a high school standout, mostly because she was typically more talented than most everyone the floor.
As a college freshman, it has been different. It's been "a learning process," as she put it.
"It's not something that's come very easily because as a scorer you always want to think, 'I want to go score,'" she said, "but, in college basketball, that's not really how it works."
Lately, Carr started to figure out what does and does not work a little better.
Over K-State's last three games, the 6-foot-1 guard has averaged 11.7 points on 42.9 percent (12-of-28) from the field and 40.0 percent (6-of-15) from 3-point range. Most recently, she provided an efficient 15 points in 19 minutes in K-State's win at Oklahoma on Sunday, when she hit 6-of-9 from the field and 3-of-6 from beyond the arc.
"I'm just playing more composed and letting my shots come to me, rather than forcing them," Carr said, as K-State (15-9, 6-6) hosts No. 1-ranked Baylor on Wednesday at 7 p.m. "These last couple of games I really haven't felt pressure to score as much. I feel like that found me being more consistent on the court."
"I think (she's) just more patient, letting the game come to her a little bit," K-State head coach Jeff Mittie added. "There's that balance of being aggressive but also not forcing things. That's where she's found a better balance the last three games."
To put Carr's last three games in perspective, it followed a four-game stretch where she averaged 6.5 points on 29.6 percent from the field and 29.4 percent from three. Her growth since then has been noticeable in more ways than simple statistics, too.
"She's way more poised with the ball, way more controlled with the ball, and moving without the basketball has also been really good for her," K-State senior point guard Kayla Goth said of Carr. "She's getting more open looks when she moves without the basketball versus just standing and waiting for that ball to come to her. I think she's realizing that, and there's definitely been some maturity growth there."
Carr said the recent consistency she found came from talks — lots of them — with her coaches and teammates.
"I'm very hard-headed," Carr said, before laughingly crediting the trait to her father and K-State assistant coach Chris Carr. "So, it definitely has taken a lot of reflection and a lot of film and a lot of talking to Coach Mittie about it."
Specifically, Carr said she has been fortunate to be able to lean on cerebral players like Goth and junior forward Peyton Williams throughout this process. They have helped her understand the many layers within "what a good shot is and what a bad shot is," she said.
This includes time on the shot clock, a factor Carr never experienced in high school; the time and score in the game; and even what her role is in transition defense. For instance, if she has the responsibility of being the person in charge of getting back on defense, she has figured out that a quick, low-percentage shot can snowball the wrong way for her team.
"They do a good job helping me realize why it wasn't that good of a shot," she said of Goth and Williams, "so I can make sure it doesn't happen again."
Along with her production and efficiency, Carr has stabilized her shot attempt numbers. In her first seven games, she averaged 13.4 shot attempts. In 12 conference games, she has put up 8.8 shots per contest. She's also made 34.3 percent from the field and 31.3 percent from deep in Big 12 play, 4.5- and 6.3-percent improvements, respectively, to those same numbers in non-conference play.
"It's a hit or miss," Carr said of her high volume shooting early in the season. "You can be really productive one game and you can be not as productive the next game, so not being consistent, for me, I felt like it hurt our team. I just kind of took a step back, realized to let the shots come to me, let them find me, and it's worked out well for me."
Christianna Carr used to shoot the ball or attack the rim without much hesitation or thought. This worked as a high school standout, mostly because she was typically more talented than most everyone the floor.
As a college freshman, it has been different. It's been "a learning process," as she put it.
"It's not something that's come very easily because as a scorer you always want to think, 'I want to go score,'" she said, "but, in college basketball, that's not really how it works."
Lately, Carr started to figure out what does and does not work a little better.
Over K-State's last three games, the 6-foot-1 guard has averaged 11.7 points on 42.9 percent (12-of-28) from the field and 40.0 percent (6-of-15) from 3-point range. Most recently, she provided an efficient 15 points in 19 minutes in K-State's win at Oklahoma on Sunday, when she hit 6-of-9 from the field and 3-of-6 from beyond the arc.
"I'm just playing more composed and letting my shots come to me, rather than forcing them," Carr said, as K-State (15-9, 6-6) hosts No. 1-ranked Baylor on Wednesday at 7 p.m. "These last couple of games I really haven't felt pressure to score as much. I feel like that found me being more consistent on the court."
"I think (she's) just more patient, letting the game come to her a little bit," K-State head coach Jeff Mittie added. "There's that balance of being aggressive but also not forcing things. That's where she's found a better balance the last three games."
To put Carr's last three games in perspective, it followed a four-game stretch where she averaged 6.5 points on 29.6 percent from the field and 29.4 percent from three. Her growth since then has been noticeable in more ways than simple statistics, too.
"She's way more poised with the ball, way more controlled with the ball, and moving without the basketball has also been really good for her," K-State senior point guard Kayla Goth said of Carr. "She's getting more open looks when she moves without the basketball versus just standing and waiting for that ball to come to her. I think she's realizing that, and there's definitely been some maturity growth there."
Carr said the recent consistency she found came from talks — lots of them — with her coaches and teammates.
"I'm very hard-headed," Carr said, before laughingly crediting the trait to her father and K-State assistant coach Chris Carr. "So, it definitely has taken a lot of reflection and a lot of film and a lot of talking to Coach Mittie about it."
Specifically, Carr said she has been fortunate to be able to lean on cerebral players like Goth and junior forward Peyton Williams throughout this process. They have helped her understand the many layers within "what a good shot is and what a bad shot is," she said.
This includes time on the shot clock, a factor Carr never experienced in high school; the time and score in the game; and even what her role is in transition defense. For instance, if she has the responsibility of being the person in charge of getting back on defense, she has figured out that a quick, low-percentage shot can snowball the wrong way for her team.
"They do a good job helping me realize why it wasn't that good of a shot," she said of Goth and Williams, "so I can make sure it doesn't happen again."
Along with her production and efficiency, Carr has stabilized her shot attempt numbers. In her first seven games, she averaged 13.4 shot attempts. In 12 conference games, she has put up 8.8 shots per contest. She's also made 34.3 percent from the field and 31.3 percent from deep in Big 12 play, 4.5- and 6.3-percent improvements, respectively, to those same numbers in non-conference play.
"It's a hit or miss," Carr said of her high volume shooting early in the season. "You can be really productive one game and you can be not as productive the next game, so not being consistent, for me, I felt like it hurt our team. I just kind of took a step back, realized to let the shots come to me, let them find me, and it's worked out well for me."
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