This is something no one saw coming for the Tennessee Vols men's basketball team. If you were surprised when it was announced that guard Cameron Carr was going to be leaving the program and transferring, you weren't alone there.
Carr caught plenty of people off guard, including head coach Rick Barnes. Carr has been out for a little while due to a thumb injury, which was a setback for him for the 2024-25 campaign. While he was recovering from his injury, however, it looks like he wasn't pleased with how things were going for him in Knoxville.
This led to him deciding his future is best suited elsewhere. Barnes was asked about Carr leaving the No. 1 team in the country and he wasn't happy about things at all. Matter of fact, he made it clear that this was a total surprise. Barnes added that Carr fully walked out on his teammates:
Rick Barnes said Cameron Carr 'just walked out.'
— Ryan Sylvia (@RyanTSylvia) December 24, 2024
"It's baffling to be quite honest with you."
➡️ https://t.co/cXT4lUCZpZ pic.twitter.com/ZnRLRvyOCF
Cameron Carr leaving the Tennessee basketball team surprised Rick Barnes
“We were obviously counting on him being part of the team,” Barnes said via On3 sports. “Surprised his teammates. They were very disappointed. So from here on, there is nothing to really talk about. He made his decision. No reason. It’s baffling to be quite honest with you.”
Before suffering his injury, Carr was averaging 4.8 points and 1.5 rebounds per game. It wasn't expected to be a season-ending issue for him. With Tennessee already off to a memorable start to the year, Carr could have returned and provided quality depth.
That won't be the case, though, as he decided he no longer wants to don a Vols jersey. Soon enough, we'll find out where Carr plays next, but it's a big-time disappointment that things didn't work out for him with UT. Barnes was taken back by the news and so were the other guys inside of the locker room.