Aquille Carr

February 4, 2012 It's late in the first half of a tournament game, more than 3,000 basketball fans have filled the auditorium, and as the Patterson High Clippers of Baltimore toss the ball inbounds and head up the court, a spectator leans over to speak to his young son. "Watch No. 3," he says. "I want you to remember what you see. " That player, a 5-foot-6 spark plug named Aquille Carr, seizes the "rock," crosses midcourt and unmoors a defender with a bounce. He levitates as he enters the paint.

Aquille Carr's days at Patterson are over for now, but maybe not forever. Recently named the All-Metro Boys Basketball Player of the Year for the second straight season, the 5-foot-7 junior guard left the East Baltimore school and is now enrolled at St. Patrick High School in Elizabeth, N.J. His first day was Monday. St. Patrick is a national boys basketball powerhouse and is one of the oldest parochial schools in New Jersey, but it is reportedly closing its doors at the end of the school year due to dwindling enrollment and financial struggles.

Junior guard Aquille Carr scored a game-high 23 points and senior forward Shakir Brown added 16 against his former team as No. 5 Patterson defeated No. 3 St. Frances, 79-72, in the Final game of the Basketball Academy Saturday night at Lake Clifton. Patterson took a 61-50 lead after Nyme Manns (14 points) scored three straight baskets to start the fourth quarter, but St. Frances rallied to make things interesting. Consecutive 3-pointers from Panthers junior guard Dayshawn Wells cut the lead to 67-66, but the Clippers would never relinquish the lead.

I saw a basketball prodigy light up a frozen February night last week. I saw Aquille Carr, Patterson's sensational 5-foot-7 sophomore point guard, go for 32 points in the Clippers' 75-59 win over City in the Baltimore City League Division I championship. Time after time, in front of a packed house at Morgan State, I saw him race the length of the floor as if turbo-charged, levitate to the rim in traffic, hang there long enough to check his text messages, then finish with a layup or a nice dish to an open teammate.

Baltimore prep basketball star Aquille Carr is on the move again, this time back to Maryland, where he plans to play his senior season at Princeton Day Academy in Beltsville, said the school's coach, Van Whitfield. Just last week, the two-time Baltimore Sun All-Metro Player of the Year enrolled at Arlington Country Day, a private basketball power in Jacksonville, Fla., according to that school's coach, Rex Morgan. But Whitfield said Carr merely visited Arlington Country Day before deciding it was too far from home.

LAUREL - Good luck reducing Aquille Carr's story to a tweet or a television sound bite. Has the Baltimore prep basketball sensation grown into a man? Well, the calendar says so, as do his daughter, about to celebrate her first birthday, and his talk of the sport as a job. He hinted strongly in a recent interview that he's ready to bypass college in favor of seeking an overseas professional offer for next year. “Seton Hall is still my choice right now,” he said of the school to which he committed orally last year.

Patterson basketball sensation Aquille Carr could not have imagined a better way to end his summer vacation than taking a trip to California to do what he loves most - play ball. The opportunity came earlier this month when the rising junior guard - The Baltimore Sun's All-Metro Player of the Year last season - accepted an invitation to play in the sixth annual Boost Mobile Elite 24, set for 7 p.m. Saturday in Venice. But after hearing Tuesday afternoon from Baltimore City Public Schools - which, in conjunction with the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association, concluded that Carr's participation could potentially risk his eligibility for the coming season - Carr unpacked his bags and is instead staying home.

Aquille Carr admits he was pressing when he came off the bench to enter Thursday night's Class 3A North Region semifinal at City. But, luckily for Patterson, the junior point guard fared much better in the second half. Carr took command and scored 17 of his game-high 23 points after the break as the No. 5 Clippers defeated No. 9 City, 67-59. Patterson (18-7) will play at No. 1 Milford Mill in Saturday's regional final after the Millers defeated Woodlawn, 59-41, Thursday night.

Several NBA players will be in Baltimore on Tuesday for an exhibition game at St. Frances. Dwayne Wise , Under Armour B'more Finest's director of basketball operations, told The Sun that a team of Under Armour-sponsored pros will take on a team made up mostly of Baltimore players. Brandon Jennings (Milwaukee Bucks), Kemba Walker (Charlotte Bobcats), former Terps star Greivis Vasquez (New Orleans Hornets), DeAndre Jordan (Los Angeles Clippers) and Derrick Williams (Minnesota Timberwolves)

Mount St. Joseph senior guard Kameron Williams will be one of 10 players on the United States All-Stars team at Sunday's 40th annual Capital Classic in Virginia. Williams, a three-time All-Metro first-team selection, averaged 21 points, three rebounds and two assists per game as the Gaels won the Baltimore Catholic League title this season. Headed for Ohio State, the 6-foot-2, 175-pound guard scored more than 2,000 points in three seasons at Mount St. Joseph. Aquille Carr, a two-time All-Metro Player of the Year who played his senior season at Princeton Day, will play on the Capital All-Stars squad in the feature game against the U.S. All-Stars at T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Va. The U.S. All-Stars and Capital All-Stars are scheduled to play in the second game of a doubleheader at 4 p.m. The District All-Stars will play the Suburban All-Stars at 2 p.m. For the complete rosters for both games, click here . For more information, including tickets, click here .