SI.com: Michael Carrera A Breakout Sophomore For 2013-14

quote:

---

2. Michael Carrera, 6-5 power forward, South Carolina

Freshman minutes per game: 21.1
Freshman points per game: 9.9
% of team possessions used: 27.0
Offensive efficiency rating: 102.8

Last November, I wrote about Carrera's out-of-nowhere, 17-point, 15-rebound debut against Milwaukee, calling him a "two-star prospect with a five-star motor." He played like a madman in that game ... and then suffered a concussion and a hip injury that prevented him from truly taking off in the non-conference season. The fact that he played for one of the SEC's worst teams kept him in obscurity the rest of the season, although opposing fan-bases did sporadically taunt him about the abbreviated length of his shorts.

Carrera's potential is based on his activity rate, wingspan (7-2 despite his small frame) and oversized hands. His offensive and defensive rebounding percentages (16.0 and 25.0, respectively) put him in an elite class of glass-cleaners; he's like a Venezuelan version of Arsalan Kazemi, the undersized power forward who helped lead Oregon to the Sweet 16 this year, then was drafted in the second round by the Sixers. That Carrera was able to be an efficient, high-usage scorer with a limited offensive skill set is a good sign; if he develops a face-up jumper and keeps himself on the court by cutting down on reckless fouls, he could be a 14-and-10 guy as a sophomore.

---