Garrison Carr, Underappreciated Issaquah Hoopster, Picked in NBA D-League Draft

Garrison Carr, the sweet-shooting Issaquah grad who engineered perhaps the greatest upset in state hoops history, will get a longshot chance at playing professionally in the U.S. He was a seventh-round pick in yesterday's NBA D (for "Development")-League draft.

As a senior at Issaquah, Carr helmed his Eagles to a win over a high school team with two future NBA lottery picks, Spencer Hawes and Martell Webster.

You'd think that would be enough to get Carr a scholarship from a West Coast school, but it wasn't. Carr went to American University in Washington D.C., where they underestimated his talents by barely playing him his first two seasons. His junior and senior years, Carr led American to the school's first two NCAA tourney berths. He became the Patriot League's all-time three-point shooter, and had #15-seed American tied with #2-seed Tennessee in the second half of an NCAA tourney game.

Carr has been underestimated his whole career, a theme his high school coach Jeff Patrick struck time and again when I interviewed him for a piece on Carr in the P-I, which remains one of my favorite things I've written. Talking about how San Diego St. coach Steve Fisher passed on Carr, Patrick said: "I think it was a psychological thing. We'd meet and he'd look over at Garrison, 5-9, wearing glasses. He just couldn't pull the trigger."

The D-League Albuquerque Thunderbirds, who are affiliated with the NBA's Dallas and New Orleans franchises, did pull the trigger. Carr will get to show off his shot with hopes of making Albuquerque's roster. Opening day for Albuquerque is November 27.

Other players with local ties who were picked:

Ira Brown, a forward for Gonzaga, was a fourth-round pick of the Austin Toros.

Rashaad Powell, a Renton High grad, was a seventh-round pick of the Dakota Wizards. 

Other local ballers who were eligible for the D-League draft included Lodrick Stewart, Ryan Diggs, Nick Moore and Giovanne Woods. None of them were picked.