skip navigation

West Chester East product Andrew Carr living his dream at Wake Forest

11/01/2022, 9:30am EDT
By Joseph Santoliquito

By Joseph Santoliquito (@JSantoliquito)
__

(Ed. Note: This article is part of our 2022-23 season coverage, which will run for the six weeks preceding the first official games of the year on Nov. 9. To access all of our high school and college preview content for this season click here)

~~~

As a sophomore at West Chester East High School, Andrew Carr once got a chance to visit the gorgeous, leafy campus of Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Walking around, he ruminated on what it could be like one day playing at the Atlantic Coast Conference school. It was, at that time, a distant view of himself, of what could be.


West Chester East product Andrew Carr was named a captain after transferring to Wake Forest this offseason. (Photo: Courtesy Wake Forest Athletics)

Last spring, that vision grew much more tangible.

It may have taken a couple of years, but the 6-foot-10, 220-pound junior forward fulfilled his dream.

In the first week of June, Carr transferred from the University of Delaware, where he was a two-year starter under head coach Martin Ingelsby, into Wake Forest—and what’s more was chosen as one of the team captains of the 2022-23 Demon Deacons.

It’s been an interesting journey for the personable Carr, a star at East with Tym Richardson, whose senior seasons were cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic when the Vikings reached the state quarterfinals of the PIAA Class 5A playoffs. Carr was getting mid-major looks out of high school, with heavy Patriot League and Colonial Athletic Conference (CAA) attention. He received tepid attention from Georgia and Virginia, though nothing serious.

He settled early before his senior year on Delaware, where he was a two-year starter and aided the Blue Hens to their sixth NCAA Tournament appearance in program history and third in the last 23 years (2022, 2014, 1999, 1998, 1993, 1994) after winning the CAA Tournament. His play in the CAA Tournament is what landed Carr at Wake Forest.

In being named to the CAA All-Tournament first team, Carr dropped a double-double with 17 points and 12 boards in the Blue Hens’ 59-55 CAA Championship victory over UNC Wilmington on March 8. He followed that with 13 points against No. 2-seed Villanova in Delaware’s first round 80-60 NCAA Tournament loss.

“I was playing my best basketball at the end of last season and that played a factor into transferring to Wake,” said Carr, who started 34 of 35 games during his sophomore year, averaging 10 points and five rebounds in 28 minutes per game, while leading the Blue Hens with a 40.5 three-point shooting percentage (minimum 10 attempts) and 37 blocks. He reached double figures in 16 games. “I played well in big games and wound up taking advantage of that. I wasn’t leaving a bad situation at Delaware, or that there was something wrong, or anything like that. I’m deeply appreciate of coach Ingelsby, and I enjoyed my time there. I left on great terms. At a certain point, I reflected on the (past) season, and I wanted to push myself against the highest competition.

“I thought about what the best steps were for me going forward. That meant looking to develop more and make the jump to the best league in college basketball; the league that produces the most pros and how it all came together.”

Carr, who carries a 3.0 GPA, plans on majoring in communications at Wake Forest. His second college basketball incarnation contrasted starkly from the first. Once he submitted his name into the transfer portal, he received an avalanche of attention. He narrowed his scope down to Wake Forest, North Carolina State, Saint Louis, Davidson and Virginia Tech.

He admits it was a stressful time. He visited numerous schools and finally chose Wake Forest and third-year head coach Steve Forbes, whose team rebounded from the 6–16 overall (3-15 ACC) finish in his first year to 25–10 overall (13–7 ACC) last season and an NIT berth. (It’s still a point of contention with Forbes because the Demon Deacons were left out of last year’s NCAA Tournament after a 25-win season, including a 98-76 victory at home over North Carolina on Jan. 22.)


Andrew Carr's strong postseason helped Delaware to the NCAA Tournament and earned him interest in the transfer portal. (Photo: Mark Jordan/CoBL)

“I was fortunate in that way when my name hit the portal, I had a bunch of schools calling,” Carr said. “I chose Wake and being in college basketball for a couple of years, I learned a lot. It’s super important to find a group of people who love the coach, and it’s about relationships. It’s one of the biggest things I put an emphasis on going through the process. I made sure that I was going to a spot with the right people who really care about you and told you everything honestly. Coach Forbes does not mess around. He lets you know how things are straight up. You appreciate that as a player.

“It felt great here. I loved the campus when I visited as a sophomore in high school. I got my dream. It took a little while, but I got it. I finished at Delaware the end of May, and I got here the first week of June. It was a quick turnaround.”

Forbes grew up in Lone Tree, Iowa, though, ironically, was a big Philadelphia Phillies fan growing up with the 1970’s teams led by Mike Schmidt and Steve Carlton. He once caught a foul ball off Phillies’ power hitter Greg Luzinski down the third base line at St. Louis’ Busch Stadium.

Doing their homework, the Wake Forest coaching staff liked how Carr scored 13 points on three different levels against Villanova. Forbes liked Carr’s physicality, his length, his academic background, and his character. Forbes stressed how well-coached Carr was at Delaware and topping it off was Forbes’ penchant for skilled tall players.

“Andrew has all of those qualities,” Forbes said. “The hard thing about the transfer portal for all of us is that it’s hard to keep your guys. Andrew is just starting to grow into the player that he’s going to become. He’s 223 pounds right now, and he’s worked really hard in the weight room, but I think at this level, he’s going to have to progress to around 230. He continues to get more confident, and we like to run things through him. Andrew will continue to blossom as he gains more experience and more confidence, and the more weight he gains.”

Carr reminds Forbes a lot of former Demon Deacon Jake LaRavia, who transferred into Wake Forest from Indiana State and developed into becoming the 19th overall choice in last year’s NBA Draft by the Memphis Grizzlies. Forbes feels Carr’s game and LaRavia’s are similar.

“Like Jake, Andrew played a lot of five in high school, and I get it, but he’ll play a lot of four for me,” Forbes said. “I think Andrew’s offensive game will come. Where he has to improve is I think it’s harder for big guys who have played in the post all their lives to guard guards and move their feet. Andrew has to become a proficient perimeter defender. It’s interesting with the Philly connection, I also loved the Sixers and loved Dr. J (Julius Erving). But I loved Bobby Jones, and he played in the ACC.

“I remember calling Andrew one night when he was watching a Sixers’ game. I recruited Tobias Harris when I was at Tennessee, and I was talking to Andrew about the game. I told him had to pattern his game after Bobby Jones. If Andrew can do that, and he has the athleticism, now I’m not saying he’s as athletic as Bobby Jones, but Andrew can shoot it. When he makes that transition to be a high-level defender, he has a chance to be an all-ACC player.”

In one year, Forbes helped LaRavia transform into a first-round NBA Draft pick.

Welcome captain


Andrew Carr bonded with his new Wake Forest teammates during a European tour this summer. (Photo: Courtesy Wake Forest Athletics)

It’s incredibly rare for a transfer to be selected as a team captain.

That’s what happened to Carr.

In the first week of August, the Demon Deacons embarked on a 10-day European tour, where they visited London, England, Paris, France, Amsterdam, Netherlands and Normandy, France, where the D-Day invasion took place. Wake Forest played the London Lions and a club team in Paris.

On the trip, a bond formed between Carr and his new teammates.

In mid-September, Wake Forest’s team voted for four team captains. On Sept. 26, Monday afternoon, after the Demon Deacons ended their first official practice, everyone gathered around Forbes.

Forbes, in a matter-of-fact voice, announced the team captains. The third one called was Carr’s, among Daivien Williamson, Jao Ituka and Tyree Appleby. Appleby (Florida) and Ituka (Marist) are transfers, while Williamson played for Wake Forest last year.

“It was an awesome moment to hear my name,” Carr said. “It’s truly an honor coming as a transfer as an older player. I knew what kind of an impact I wanted to make on the team. I thought it was an opportunity to represent myself in a leadership role and being together over season during the summer helped me. I thought a few months being around the guys, I felt comfortable while we were playing and how my teammates responded to me.

“The coaches try to do a great job in filling the guys with confidence, but it feels a little different when it comes from your teammates. It gave me a good lesson of how much faith they have in me, and how impactful I can be with having faith in them.”

Forbes wasn’t surprised.

“It’s not very often transfers get voted captain of the team,” Forbes said. “Listen, to be a leader, the first thing you have to do is to lead yourself. To get it that fast, you have to lead by example. Since Andrew first got here, he’s been an example on and off the court. Plus, Andrew has a good personality. People gravitate to him. On our European trip, a lot of guys gravitated to Andrew.

“Coach Ingelsby did a fabulous job with Andrew, who’s still growing and who’s best basketball is ahead of him.”


D-I Coverage:

HS Coverage:

Small-College News:

Tag(s): Home  Contributors  2023-24 Preview  College  Division I  High School  Joseph Santoliquito  Boys HS  Ches-Mont (B)  Ches-Mont National (B)  West Chester East