43 Hoops Owner Serves Athletes and the Community

Chris Carr’s NBA career ended in 2003 after nine seasons spread across several locations. The Phoenix Suns drafted him in 1995. Before he retired, he played for the Minnesota Timberwolves, the New Jersey Nets, the Chicago Bulls and the Boston Celtics.

But when it came time to settle down, he chose the Twin Cities as his home and opened , his highly successful basketball and volleyball academy, in Hopkins.

“We really like living here because it’s a great place to raise a family,” said Carr, who lives in Eden Prairie with his wife and children.

43 Hoops Academy has been at Hopkins’ Second Street Northeast, just west of Blake Road, since 2007. Carr is the founder and CEO. It has since become known for both high-level sports training and exemplary corporate citizenship.

The school, whose name comes from the jersey number Carr wore during much of his NBA career, has served thousands of basketball and volleyball players—ranging from elementary students to NBA stars. On the day Carr met with Patch, —a former Hopkins High School and University of Minnesota basketball player now with the Nets—was scheduled to practice at 43 Hoops.

Children from across the metro trek to Hopkins to be instructed by Carr or one of his assistants—including former Gopher Lawrence Mackenzie and former Minneapolis North and Ohio State star P.J. Hill.

Carr added the volleyball component of 43 Hoops to meet a growing demand in that sport.

“Season-wise, it’s a natural. Volleyball is a fall sport in Minnesota, so we can have kids here in the winter for instruction when our basketball program is rather quiet because basketball is primarily a winter sport,” he said.

Carr and his staff of 10 full-time employees also devote substantial time to those without basketball or volleyball prowess.

“They have been a great neighbor,” said Ann Beuch, a spokeswoman for the Blake Road Corridor Collaborative, an advocacy group that addresses issues around the historically troubled area. “They have provided space for community meetings and even for local indoor soccer practices. They are a real asset to the community.”

Carr and his partner, Chief Financial Officer Tom Schuster, have given back in other ways, too. They have a foundation that has provided scholarships to about 250 disadvantaged kids so they could participate in either academy clinics or individual and small-group training sessions.

He also serves as the head coach of Eden Prairie High School girl’s varsity basketball team—a perennial Hopkins rival. Two of his returning seniors, Shayne Mullaney and Jackie Johnson, committed to playing for the University of Minnesota next year.

For Carr, supporting the community is just part of being a good neighbor.

"No one in life makes it without the help of someone along the way," he said. "We have taken the attitude that, whether it's an individual or the community in which we are located, we want to help and do what we can to make things better."