Back to the Future II depicted the year 2015 would have flying cars. A decade later and the movie ended up being correct, sorta.
If you go to the great barttorvik.com, and have the following query -
- Dunks > 10 (over 1.5 a game average)
- Last name = Carr
You get not one, but two players that populate for this season.
Meet Coen Carr and Cameron Carr, two of the highest flying players in all of college basketball. Although there's no relation between the two, both are listed at 6'5 or 6'6 depending on the site, and both have been some of the best dunkers in all of college basketball this season. Both were top 50 recruits in the 2023 recruiting class, and both have already made highlights this season.
If you filter for players who are 6'6 and under in college basketball this season, both Coen and Cameron rank in the top 4 of dunks. As of this writing, Coen Carr is averaging 2.3 dunks per game, and Cameron Carr is averaging 1.7 dunks per game.
Coen Carr has already made plenty of incredible dunks throughout his career, and he's widely considered the best dunker in college basketball right now. He'd be able to go compete in the NBA Dunk Contest this second and have a chance to win it.
Coen Carr has been doing this for a long time, and he made himself known in high school for his ability to fly high even then. During his senior season at Legacy Early College, he won the dunk contest and nearly 40% of Carr's field goal attempts came in the form of dunks. If he was open at all on the fast break, his team was more than willing to throw the lob anywhere above the rim, knowing that 6'5 Coen Carr would come down with it.
That number has translated to college as well. During his freshman season, 24 of his 41 field goal makes were dunks (58.5%). His sophomore season he had 62 dunks out of 113 field goals (54.9%). This season he's made 29 field goals with 18 dunks (62.1%). Throughout his career at Michigan State, he's had 177 total field goals and 105 have been dunks.
What's maybe even more interesting for Coen Carr than the number of dunks he has is how he's getting them. Throughout his career at Michigan State, he's been living in transition for the Spartans.
During his freshman season, over 50% of Carr's dunks came in transition, and that number dropped just below the 50% mark the following season. However, this year he has been lethal when getting out and running, helped in some capacity by Jeremy Fears emerging as one of the better point guards in the country. 61.1% of his dunks have come in transition this season, the highest in his career.
Simply put, good luck stopping Coen Carr once he gets a head of steam.
Coen Carr has a reported 51.5 inch vertical leap, which would be one of the highest ever recorded. There are plenty of dunks where his head is at or above the rim as he starts to throw it down.
In addition to all of the jumping and dunking stats above, what makes Coen Carr such a dynamic dunker is his ability to elevate so quickly off one foot. He can jump off one or two feet well, but he's elite at quickly getting above the rim off of one.
When in transition, Carr prefers to run the left side of the floor before jumping off his right leg and soaring above the rim. (Side note - it's incredible how many times he just happens to already be on the left side of the floor as a turnover happens.) However, Carr can play off two feet when he needs to in the half court, even if he prefers to be a one foot jumper.
This season, Carr has jumped off his right foot for dunks 12 times, and he's jumped off two feet just 6 times. He hasn't jumped off solely his left foot yet this season for dunks.
And that gets us to Cameron Carr, a breakout player for Baylor this season. He doesn't have nearly the volume of dunks as Coen, but Cameron already has a few big time dunks this season.
After not playing much in his first two seasons at Tennessee, Cameron Carr has had a fantastic start to the season for Baylor. He's become an athletic wing who can score at all 3 levels, and he's been another high flyer in college basketball.
Cameron Carr doesn't live at the rim as much as Coen Carr, but he's been someone who has been a very willing dunker, even dating back to high school. Over 50% of his made 2s in high school came via dunking. He's a lankier wing that uses that to his advantage to be able to rise up and convert.
Cameron is more of a "floater" when he jumps, being able to hang in the air for what feels like a long time. In comparison, Coen Carr can also hang in the air for a while, but his success comes from being an incredibly powerful dunker.
Running a similar analysis on Cameron Carr as we did on Coen Carr, we find some different results.
8 of the 12 dunks that Cameron Carr has had this season have come in the half court, and only 4 have been in transition. Cameron Carr can get out and run, but he's very skilled at being able to rise up within the half court setting to get his looks.
As said above, Coen Carr primarily looks to jump off his right foot, especially in transition. Cameron Carr couldn't be more opposite.
In addition to Cameron Carr getting more of his looks in transition, 11 out of his 12 dunks this season have been jumping off of two feet. In addition, he's dunked 10 of the 12 with two hands this season.
And that's arguably the most interesting thing comparing the two. Both players are about 6'6, both are named C. Carr, both were top 50 recruits in the 2023 high school class, and both are averaging over a dunk per game. Despite all those similarities, they get their results in completely different fashions.
As someone who also is a fellow dunker, (I had a good three week stretch back in high school where I randomly could dunk) it fascinates me that these two incredible athletes can do what they do in such different ways. Coen Carr is the powerful jumper who seemingly can get his head above the rim on command, and he wants to jump off one foot while getting a running start whenever he can. Cameron Carr is the dunker who seems to just float in the air for a while, and although he doesn't have the power of Coen Carr's dunks, Cameron is able to weave his into the flow of the offense with his ability to quickly jump off of two.
This article isn't meant to be a comparison of "who is the best dunker" or "who is better than the other." Both are able to impact the game in multiple ways outside of just dunking, and both have helped bring success to their team early in the season. It's just an analysis on two of the best dunkers in the sport right now.
As a parting gift, here is a minute and a half of a few dunks from Cameron and Coen Carr, The Flying Carrs.
