Despite setbacks, Carr's vision for program future still in focus

Tony Carr admits his body is feeling the effects of his first-ever 31-game college basketball schedule.

His mind, though?

That, he says, is just fine as the Nittany Lions gear up for a Wednesday appearance in the Big Ten Tournament in Washington D.C.

Stumbling to an 0-5 finish to the conference slate, bookended by blowout losses at first-round opponent Nebraska and at Iowa Sunday afternoon, Carr’s perception of his team’s potential has not diminished. Finishing the Big Ten schedule with six losses by a single possession or in overtime, Carr’s sense of the small improvements it will take to get over the hump have come into sharp focus.

“I feel very confident going into the Big Ten Tournament where everybody's record is 0-0 at a neutral site,” said Carr. “I’m just very excited to go into the game Wednesday and play my first Big Ten Tournament game.”

The appearance for Carr will be his first since earning a spot on the Big Ten All-Freshman team as well as an honorable mention nod to the All-Big Ten team Monday afternoon.

With his 13.2 points per game average for the season, improved to 14.6 ppg through the conference slate, Carr finished tied for 12th in the league in scoring and the leader among the Nittany Lions. Additionally, his 4.3 assists per game in the Big Ten were sixth in the league.

On a team that finished 6-12 and earned a 13-seed in the conference tournament, however, Carr’s distinction provides little solace to the high expectations that went unfulfilled this year.

Those shortcomings have not deterred Carr from keeping in mind the vision for the future that brought the Philadelphia phenom to Penn State in the first place, though. Echoing the sentiments of head coach Patrick Chambers, who insisted that the entire program went into the season understanding the challenges and difficult road that an upward trajectory would entail, Carr said he hasn’t had any trouble staying the course.

“It hasn't been hard at all,” said Carr. “When I came here, I knew this wasn't going to be an overnight process of us just being one of the best teams in the Big Ten my first year. Everything is a process. You don't just jump into something and make it in one day.

“I knew coming here that it wasn't going to be all roses and giggles. It was going to be some tough times and we were going to have to get through some things. But I would say I'm definitely willing to put in the time and effort to make sure that this turns out the way that we all want it to be.”

In that vein, Chambers has a group of young Lions that are not looking past the Big Ten Tournament this week and toward the offseason.

Still motivated to improve on the potential shown throughout the duration of the season, said Chambers, the team is continuing to put in the work to finding success.

“We knew this process wasn't going to be easy, and maybe at times we thought it might be and they thought it might be. Maybe we were living in a little bit of a fantasy land, where we have to put the work in. I think that's their motivation,” said Chambers. “They're not pleased, nobody's pleased, with our record in the Big Ten. We had high expectations, everybody out there had high expectations, which is a good thing and we should continue that. We're going to learn from those, but I think that's their motivation. Get better and continue to compete and let's see if we can get one more. And if we get that one more, let's get one more. I think that's what they want to do right now.”

Particularly disappointed by Sunday’s sequence of events, capped for Carr by a technical foul and the remainder of the game spent on the bench with 7:44 to play, the Lions are also hoping to avenge Chambers’ consistent year-end mantra.

Setting a goal of developing his teams to play their best basketball at the end of the season, the Nittany Lions are guaranteed just one more opportunity to prove they are. And at present, Carr acknowledged, given the five-game losing streak and the turn from a near-.500 Big Ten team to one at the bottom of the league standings, the Nittany Lions are not.

“I feel like we could definitely be better. We're kind of clicking on the offensive end, but our defense can get much better,” he said. “But you know, at times like this when you're going into a one-and-done tournament, big players step up to make the big plays. I think we have big playmakers on this team, so hopefully we can put our best foot forward and step up during this tournament time.”

The Nittany Lions and ‘Huskers tip at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday from the Verizon Center. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2.