Oregon Ducks commit Isaac Carr puts his many skills on display in leading Central Catholic to 6A boys basketball semifinals

Carr scored a game-high 13 points and played stellar defense in Wednesday's OSAA state quarterfinal win over rival Jesuit

Isaac Carr’s junior season was going swimmingly as he and his Central Catholic teammates took the floor to practice Feb. 1 ahead of a Mt. Hood Conference game against Clackamas. 

Then, during a scrimmage, he felt his left ankle turn like it never had before.

The diagnosis? A high ankle sprain that threatened to derail his season just as it reached its climax.

Carr missed the next eight games, including the top-seeded Rams’ first-round OSAA Class 6A playoff win over North Medford. 

He returned to play spot minutes in last Friday’s second-round win against Mountainside, and he started and played 26 minutes Wednesday afternoon in their 59-33 romp over Jesuit in the quarterfinals at the University of Portland’s Chiles Center.

“I was a little bit concerned,” Carr said while wearing an ice pack on his ankle. “It was the first time I’d ever done anything like that, and they said the first time is always a little bit worse. But I got with my physical therapist and doctor and strength trainer, and we got a good plan and were able to get me back sooner.”

Carr scored a game-high 13 points on 4-of-10 shooting with five rebounds for the Rams, but coach David Blue pointed to Carr’s defensive effort on Jesuit junior Pat Kilfoil as critical to Wednesday’s win, during which Central Catholic held its Holy War rivals to their lowest point total in the past 11 years. 

Kilfoil finished with 12 points but was just 4 of 14 from the field, including 2 of 9 from three-point range. 

“People talk about his scoring and his shooting,” Blue said. “But we put him on one of their best players today. I was like, ‘Get in there and defend with your athleticism, your length.’ It was pretty fun to see.”

Blue acknowledged he might have pushed the minutes restriction for his star junior, but with a day off before Friday’s semifinal against two-time defending champion Tualatin, he could take the risk. 

“He’s a competitor. He wasn’t going to come out of the game,” Blue said. “Just getting him back, his energy and athleticism and just having him there. He’s a great kid.”

Carr parlayed a strong summer season playing for the Rams and his club team, Northwest Rotary Rebels, to shoot up the state recruiting rankings, moving to the No. 1 spot (No. 26 nationally among shooting guards according to 247Sports) and earning offers from Oregon State, Stanford, Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount. 

But when Oregon showed interest, the 6-foot-4 sharpshooter was hooked.

“I really liked the coaching staff and my opportunity there that they blessed me with,” he said. “So, I just wanted to take advantage of that as soon as I could.”

Before his injury, Carr showed off an improved all-around game, averaging 17 points, four rebounds and three assists in helping the Rams go undefeated against in-state competition this season.

He said committing early to the Ducks “allowed me to just focus on getting better and focus on the team a little more.”

His return also frees up his teammates to get more one-on-one looks thanks to the attention Carr draws.

“When he wasn’t there, a lot of teams would help super hard on me,” said senior Marley Zeller, who signed with Pepperdine. “Now, we have a bunch of threats where they can’t really double or help super hard. He’s just a good player, a good teammate.”

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Photos by Taylor Balkom