‘Junkyard Dog’ Carroll finally makes his mark with the Hawks
ATLANTA—When DeMarre Carroll is having one of those nights where the shots just won't fall, like Game 2 of the playoffs, he doesn't get down on himself.
He knows there's so many other ways he can help the top-seeded Atlanta Hawks, whether it's playing shutdown defense, banging for a rebound or diving to the floor to grab a loose ball.
Besides, Carroll knows a thing or two about adversity beyond the court. His brother died young. He's been shot. He has a rare liver disease. Not to mention, all those doubts about his future in the NBA as he bounced from one team to another.
"It made me stronger, man," Carroll said of the winding journey that brought him to where he is now. "I've been through so much, but I look at it as a positive. I look at me being a testimony for all the other individuals or kids or whoever in the world is going through something. You can go through obstacles but still succeed in life."
Carroll has become the emotional core of the Hawks, who surged to the top of the Eastern Conference this season and hold a 2-0 lead in their playoff series against Brooklyn.
The 6-foot-8 forward had 17 points in Game 1, helping Atlanta get by even though top scorer Paul Millsap had a tough night. Carroll was the one struggling in the second game, making only one basket and missing all five of his attempts from 3-point range.
Carroll learned at an early age to persevere.
He was just 5 when his older brother DeLonte died of a brain tumor. During the summer of 2007, while attending Missouri, Carroll was randomly shot in the ankle during a disturbance outside a nightclub, another reminder of the frailty of life. If that wasn't enough, he also learned in college of his liver disease, which could eventually require a transplant but likely long after he's finished his basketball career.
After a stellar career at Missouri, where he was known for a tenacious style that earned him the nickname "Junkyard Dog," Carroll was drafted late in the first round by the Memphis Grizzlies in 2009. It didn't work out. Carroll was demoted to the D-League and dealt to Houston before his rookie year was done. Waived by the Rockets at the end of the season, he moved on to Denver but played only four games before he was let go again. After signing with Utah, Carroll made a few starts and finally showed signs of getting his career on track. But it wasn't until he signed a two-year deal with the rebuilding Hawks in 2013 that it all came together.
The coaching staff focused on Carroll's footwork, his shooting technique, helped him understand angles and positioning on defense. He was eager to put in the time, coming early and staying late at just about every practice. The Hawks figured they were getting a guy who would mainly serve as a defensive stopper, but he wound up averaging more than 11 points a game.
This season, Carroll was even better, improving to 12.6 while hitting nearly 40 percent from beyond the arc. He's still the Junkyard Dog. He's just so much more.