How Cameron Carr made ‘one of the best plays’ of the year for Tennessee basketball

Rick Barnes would have been fine if Cameron Carr chose to shoot.

The Tennessee basketball freshman was open drifting toward the corner after all. But he didn’t shoot the 3-pointer and instead got the coach’s attention.

“I thought he made one of the best plays we’ve had all year,” Barnes said.

Carr played 2 minutes and 13 seconds in as No. 13 Tennessee (5-3) rolled to an 87-66 win against George Mason (7-2) on Tuesday at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center. It was all he needed: Carr had one rebound and one assist, the latter drawing the large declaration from Barnes.

How Cameron Carr impressed Rick Barnes against George Mason

Carr dribbled toward the baseline instead of shooting a 3-pointer with 25 seconds to play. He took another dribble, pulling George Mason’s Woody Newton away from the paint while Patriots guard Tre Wood trailed the play chasing Carr.

The 6-foot-5 Carr reached the baseline. He bounced a pass to forward J.P. Estrella, who was open thanks to Carr getting Newton to leave the paint. Estrella dunked the ball.

Barnes leaned back in his chair on the Tennessee bench, aware of the moment from Carr.

“I’m telling you, a week ago he would have jacked that shot up and you know what? I would’ve been OK with it because he was open and he had worked a little bit,” Barnes said. “He just didn’t come off the bench. But then he made a great play and just showed his ability. That was a unbelievable pick find because he can pass the ball.”

Cameron Carr has played sparingly for the Vols

Part of Barnes’ adoration for Carr’s pass stemmed from what happened at North Carolina on Nov. 29. Carr played for 10 seconds and shot a 3-pointer in the first half.

“He had no idea what he was doing,” Barnes said.

Carr had played 14 minutes entering Tuesday. He was 2-for-5 shooting, all on 3-pointers. He made one against Tennessee Tech in the season opener and had three assists. He also hit a 3-pointer against Wofford on Nov. 14.

BIG MAN: Tennessee basketball was lost in its loss at North Carolina. It found something in Jonas Aidoo.

The lengthy guard is part of UT’s deep guard group, but is near the bottom of the group behind a bounty of veterans. UT has fifth-year seniors Dalton Knecht, Josiah-Jordan James and Santiago Vescovi, as well as juniors Zakai Zeigler, Joran Gainey and Jahmai Mashack. Redshirt freshman Freddie Dilione V returned Tuesday after missing four games and had three points, two rebounds and an assist in nine minutes.

Carr was the No. 56 recruit in the 247Sports Composite in the 2023 recruiting class. He also had offers from Kansas State, Louisville, Northwestern and Virginia among others.

Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on Twitter @ByMikeWilson. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it