Patrick Reusse: On and off the court, EP's Carr sets the pace

Eden Prairie guard Aubrey Davis was pressuring an Edina ballhandler in the backcourt. Chris Carr was standing at the edge of the sideline and repeating a command: "Speed her up, speed her up."

Carr is in his first season as the coach for girls' basketball at Eden Prairie High School. There's a collection of athletic players that has enabled him to use an aggressive style on both ends of the court.

"We want to make the other team play fast," Carr said. "We have good depth and quickness on the perimeter, so we can press. Teams that like to execute, to play at pace ... if we can get them moving faster than it's comfortable, that's when you can go on those little runs that break open a game."

And that's why you can hear Carr say a couple of dozen times in a game: "Speed her up" -- meaning, get a little tighter and busier on defense, so the ballhandler is spending her time trying to dribble away from the defender rather than finding a teammate with a pass.

On offense, the Eagles pushed the ball at the Edina defense and the good shooters were ready to fire. Carr said: "I want my players to play with freedom. We encourage them to make plays."

Morgan VanRiper-Rose, a 5-11 senior, used that freedom to knock down three consecutive long-range jumpers out of the break. She finished with 21 points in a 69-54 victory on Friday that put Carr's team at 14-2.

Back in 1995, Carr came out of Southern Illinois as a 6-6 guard and was a second-round draft choice of the Phoenix Suns. He was released after his rookie season and signed with the Timberwolves.

Carr went to New Jersey with Marbury, and also would play for Golden State, Chicago and Boston. He totaled six seasons in the NBA and then played overseas.

An unusual thing happened during this time: Carr married Tanya, from Albert Lea, Minn., and made the Twin Cities home. The unusual part is that so few Timberwolves that have come and gone in the franchise's 22 seasons live here on a permanent basis.

We're talking about players from elsewhere who developed enough fondness for the area to stay. Any teammates from Carr's time with the Wolves fit that profile?

"LaPhonso Ellis lived here for a while, but he's gone," Carr said. "Kevin [Garnett] is around some in the summer. He works out at my academy when he's here. But former Timberwolves that live here year-round ... I think I'm about it.

"That's probably another reason people don't seem to relate to the Wolves. I was just a role player -- some good moments, some bad moments -- and basketball fans see me and say, 'Hey, you're Chris Carr,' as if it's a shock to see a former Timberwolf in town."

"That's very hard, obviously, but you have to believe God has a plan and that Nadja's in heaven with him," Carr said. "And, you love your kids that much more."

Carr's pro career overseas was over in 2003 and he started 43 Hoops -- teaching basketball to players of all ages in gyms around the Twin Cities. In the spring of 2008, he purchased an old Medalist fitness center in Hopkins and turned it into the 43 Hoops Academy.

A number of top metro players with NCAA Division I scholarships played for Carr's boys' summer team at 43 Hoops. And VanRiper-Rose started training at the academy as an eighth-grader, and now she's headed to Denver U. on a scholarship.

"Eden Prairie is where we have our neighborhood cookouts, where our kids go to school," Carr said. "And getting a chance to coach the high school team ... it's another great basketball experience for me."