ABARedWhiteBlue
09-16-2008, 08:24 AM
Nice story, but...
http://www.journal-news.net/page/content.detail/id/510324.html
Charles Town's Carr taking shot at pro basketball
Jefferson graduate makes Beckley roster for ABA debut season
By NATE MACZUZAK/Journal sports writer POSTED: September 16, 2008
CHARLES TOWN - Professional basketball has arrived in the Mountain State, and Charles Town native and Jefferson graduate Travon Carr will be among the players ushering in the inaugural season.
Carr, a 5-foot-9, 145-pound point guard who played at Potomac State as a freshman in 2006-07, turned a recent 6 1/2-hour trip to Beckley into a roster spot on the fledgling American Basketball Association's West Virginia Blazers, an organization based in Bluefield.
"I tried out on Sunday," Carr said. "They called me back today to set up my background check, so essentially that means I'm on the roster."
After starting as a freshman at Potomac State, Carr, 21, didn't return to the Catamounts in 2008, instead choosing to focus on his criminal justice studies and working individually to take his basketball game to the next level. It worked, and now he'll travel to Beckley later this month to officially sign his contract and learn what his first-year salary will be.
"It was tough," Carr said. "I was kind of shaky, didn't know anybody. But I just went out and did my best."
Although the organization is based in Bluefield, most of the Blazers' activities will take place in Beckley with home games being played at the Raleigh County Armory and Convention Center. The Blazers' home-opener is scheduled for Jan. 4, but no other information was available on their web site.
Carr left Jefferson High School after his sophomore year for opportunities at Glen Mills Schools in Philadelphia, the nation's oldest existing residential school for court-referred young men, where he began his high school basketball career.
"I was second team all-state, first team all-area as a senior and ranked in the top 68 out of about 600 seniors in New Jersey and Pa., combined by Hoop Scoop," Carr said of his time as a Bulldog. "I came back to Jefferson after my senior basketball season to graduate with my classmates."
Carr considers himself one of the best point guards to come out of Jefferson County, and said he thinks his game will translate well to the ABA.
"The ABA is based on an up-tempo game," he said. "Everyone is fast. That's how they play. At tryouts, I went out and ran the floor, was the general. I think they liked what they saw."
Carr is now preparing for the transition to the Beckley area, where the team will help him find a job and an apartment.
"There is a YMCA and a Wendy's, that's about it," Carr said. "I'm going to take some classes at Bluefield State to kill some time. I'll lose my college eligibility and won't be able to play sports anymore, but I want to still get a degree.
"I guess I'll have to adapt to the environment. It's a little different."
So is the Blazers' owner situation. Owned and managed by the Bluefield Housing Authority, the Blazers will apparently donate all net proceeds to sponsor prevention programs which promote a drug-, alcohol-, tobacco- and crime-free lifestyle, serving at-risk youths in southern West Virginia.
After nearly seven hours in a car to get to Beckley, Carr joined 24 other prospective players to compete for the final seven available roster spots. He was called back by the team the next day, and now joins Brian Kidd (Beckley, Mountain State University), Chris Nichols (Hico, Concord), Brad Surface (Lochgelly, Fayetteville HS), DeNelle Hale (Baltimore, Md., Frostburg State), Neil Rasnake (Bee, Western Carolina University), Joey Preast (Fayetteville, Davis & Elkins) and Maurice Davis (Sophia, Mountain State University), who were already on the Blazers' roster.
"I'll be paid, just don't know how much," Carr said. "I won't be able to play in college anymore, but I'm happy to move on to the pros. It's better competition and you get paid. College ball is great, but you don't get a check."
- Nate Maczuzak can be reached at (304) 263-8931 ext. 131 or nmaczuzak@journal-news.net
Hope it works out for the young man, but...
"I'll be paid, just don't know how much," Carr said. "I won't be able to play in college anymore, but I'm happy to move on to the pros. It's better competition and you get paid. College ball is great, but you don't get a check."
he may find that things aren't quite what he expected when he arrives...
http://www.journal-news.net/page/content.detail/id/510324.html
Charles Town's Carr taking shot at pro basketball
Jefferson graduate makes Beckley roster for ABA debut season
By NATE MACZUZAK/Journal sports writer POSTED: September 16, 2008
CHARLES TOWN - Professional basketball has arrived in the Mountain State, and Charles Town native and Jefferson graduate Travon Carr will be among the players ushering in the inaugural season.
Carr, a 5-foot-9, 145-pound point guard who played at Potomac State as a freshman in 2006-07, turned a recent 6 1/2-hour trip to Beckley into a roster spot on the fledgling American Basketball Association's West Virginia Blazers, an organization based in Bluefield.
"I tried out on Sunday," Carr said. "They called me back today to set up my background check, so essentially that means I'm on the roster."
After starting as a freshman at Potomac State, Carr, 21, didn't return to the Catamounts in 2008, instead choosing to focus on his criminal justice studies and working individually to take his basketball game to the next level. It worked, and now he'll travel to Beckley later this month to officially sign his contract and learn what his first-year salary will be.
"It was tough," Carr said. "I was kind of shaky, didn't know anybody. But I just went out and did my best."
Although the organization is based in Bluefield, most of the Blazers' activities will take place in Beckley with home games being played at the Raleigh County Armory and Convention Center. The Blazers' home-opener is scheduled for Jan. 4, but no other information was available on their web site.
Carr left Jefferson High School after his sophomore year for opportunities at Glen Mills Schools in Philadelphia, the nation's oldest existing residential school for court-referred young men, where he began his high school basketball career.
"I was second team all-state, first team all-area as a senior and ranked in the top 68 out of about 600 seniors in New Jersey and Pa., combined by Hoop Scoop," Carr said of his time as a Bulldog. "I came back to Jefferson after my senior basketball season to graduate with my classmates."
Carr considers himself one of the best point guards to come out of Jefferson County, and said he thinks his game will translate well to the ABA.
"The ABA is based on an up-tempo game," he said. "Everyone is fast. That's how they play. At tryouts, I went out and ran the floor, was the general. I think they liked what they saw."
Carr is now preparing for the transition to the Beckley area, where the team will help him find a job and an apartment.
"There is a YMCA and a Wendy's, that's about it," Carr said. "I'm going to take some classes at Bluefield State to kill some time. I'll lose my college eligibility and won't be able to play sports anymore, but I want to still get a degree.
"I guess I'll have to adapt to the environment. It's a little different."
So is the Blazers' owner situation. Owned and managed by the Bluefield Housing Authority, the Blazers will apparently donate all net proceeds to sponsor prevention programs which promote a drug-, alcohol-, tobacco- and crime-free lifestyle, serving at-risk youths in southern West Virginia.
After nearly seven hours in a car to get to Beckley, Carr joined 24 other prospective players to compete for the final seven available roster spots. He was called back by the team the next day, and now joins Brian Kidd (Beckley, Mountain State University), Chris Nichols (Hico, Concord), Brad Surface (Lochgelly, Fayetteville HS), DeNelle Hale (Baltimore, Md., Frostburg State), Neil Rasnake (Bee, Western Carolina University), Joey Preast (Fayetteville, Davis & Elkins) and Maurice Davis (Sophia, Mountain State University), who were already on the Blazers' roster.
"I'll be paid, just don't know how much," Carr said. "I won't be able to play in college anymore, but I'm happy to move on to the pros. It's better competition and you get paid. College ball is great, but you don't get a check."
- Nate Maczuzak can be reached at (304) 263-8931 ext. 131 or nmaczuzak@journal-news.net
Hope it works out for the young man, but...
"I'll be paid, just don't know how much," Carr said. "I won't be able to play in college anymore, but I'm happy to move on to the pros. It's better competition and you get paid. College ball is great, but you don't get a check."
he may find that things aren't quite what he expected when he arrives...