By ADAM ZAGORIA
Minnesota junior guard Marcus Carr plans to enter the NBA Draft with an NCAA-certified agent and use the NCAA Transfer portal as a backup, his mentor Vidal Massiah said.
The 6-foot-2 Toronto native averaged 19.4 points, 4.9 assists and 4.0 rebounds for a Minnesota team that finished 14-15. The school then fired coach Richard Pitino, who later took the New Mexico job.
Carr is ranked as the No. 86 “Best Available” prospect in the 2021 NBA Draft, per ESPN.com.
“He will sign with an NCAA-certified agent,” Massiah said, adding that Carr will retain his eligibility just in case.
Under new NCAA rules adopted in 2019, college players can be represented by agents that the NCAA deems legitimate and still remain eligible for college if they enter the professional draft but decide to return to college.
“Just making sure there’s a backup plan, especially considering the possibility of no in-person workouts [and] no combine,” Massiah said. “We want to make sure he can return and not find himself in a losing situation cause he never covered his [butt].”
Carr played his final two seasons at Montverde (FL) Academy under coach Kevin Boyle, who will have multiple players in this year’s draft, including projected No. 1 pick Cade Cunningham of Oklahoma State.
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