One of the more intriguing storylines for the Los Angeles Lakers this season will be the development of rookie Cameron Carr. The No. 24 pick in June's draft, Carr is immensely athletic and seems to have substantial potential, and he's easily the most promising rookie the Lakers have had since perhaps Brandon Ingram in 2016.
Carr spent three years in college, and he barely played in two years at the University of Tennessee before transferring to Baylor University for last season. At Baylor University, the 6-foot-5 guard averaged 18.9 points and 5.8 rebounds a game last season, compared to 4.8 points a game the previous season, and showed a tremendous amount of growth in a short amount of time.
He first entered the transfer portal early in the 2024-25
season and had to sit out the rest of the campaign until he was allowed to play for the Bears. Coach Scott Drew says that during that time, Carr took some things from V.J. Edgecombe, who was emerging as a star for the team that year, via the Southern California News Group.
“The smart take from the strong,” Drew said of Carr learning from Edgecombe. “You’re always going to see his work ethic, see how he did things, his approach. And Cam was able to learn from that, and take from that as well.”
Edgecombe, of course, went on to have a nice rookie season with the Philadelphia 76ers during the 2025-26 NBA campaign.
Drew also said that the improvements Carr made resulted in him drawing a lot of attention, which resulted in Carr continuing to grow.
“He went from somebody at the beginning of the year that maybe people didn’t know about, to being at the front of the scouting report,” Drew said. “That’s something that he wasn’t on at Tennessee. The adjustment from a great summer and then great start to the year, to all of a sudden things became a lot harder for him from the standpoint – he was the most targeted man defensively.
“(Opposing teams could say), ‘Don’t leave him alone, make sure you know where he is at all times, a lot of help in the gaps,’” Drew continued. “He was able to let his game mature from another standpoint of being the marked man out there.”
Carr, who made 37.4% of his 3-point attempts last season, didn't shoot well during summer league play in July, but few seem concerned about that. He will have an opportunity to earn playing time on a Lakers team that has gotten considerably younger and needs athletic two-way wings to emerge.
He has shown an ability to not only be a reliable catch-and-shoot 3-point marksman, but also to finish strong in transition and make plays on the ball defensively.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Baylor University coach on Cameron Carr's growth, learning process
