Garces' Carter officially signs with Roadrunners
| Monday, Nov 17 2008 01:06 AM
Last Updated Friday, Mar 27 2009 12:59 PM
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Garces basketball player Stephon Carter gets a hug from his girlfriend's mother, Marlo Burres, during a ceremony to announce Carter's verbal commitment to play basketball at Cal State Bakersfield in October. Carter officially signed with the Roadrunners on Sunday.
It's official: Stephon Carter's next destination as a basketball player is Cal State Bakersfield.
The senior wing from Garces High, who signed a letter of intent to play for the Roadrunners starting next season a few days ago, is officially a Roadrunner after his mother signed the letter and it was received by the CSUB athletic department.
Until the receipt of letters of intent, coaches and officials at universities are forbidden to talk about prospective players.
"Stephon Carter has been the best player in the city for the last four years and is the first legitimate impact NCAA Division I prospect from Bakersfield since we have entered the Division I arena," CSUB coach Keith Brown said in a statement. "He is extremely versatile offensively with great vision and unselfish mentality. Most impressively, he has the ability and passion to take over games at the defensive end of the floor. I encourage the city to embrace Stephon's senior season at Garces High School while looking forward to welcoming him into the Roadrunner family as we continue building our program."
Carter has been The Californian'sAll-Area Player of the Year the past two seasons. As a junior last season, Carter averaged 23.4 points, 7.6 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.8 steals per game. He is a 6-foot-3 guard-forward.
Carter chose CSUB over a host of well-known programs, including Arizona State, Colorado State and Fresno State.
Garces coach Gino Lacava said in late October, when Carter gave CSUB a verbal commitment, that he had spoken to "at least 25 different schools who all wanted him."
"It's been a dream of mine to play college basketball and this is the next logical step," Carter said when he made his verbal commitment. "I just feel Bakersfield is the right place. I just felt more comfortable and welcomed there."
Brown said the magnitude of Carter's signing only enhances the Roadrunner program.
"Stephon Carter and his family, along with Gino Lacava, have stepped up and made a major commitment to our program, CSUB and the community," Brown said. "His presence was very evident on the national recruiting scene and the commitment of Stephon, his family and Coach Lacava will have immediate and everlasting impact on the future of our program as we become eligible for NCAA postseason play and evolve into a conference affiliation."
CSUB is in the third year of a four-year transition from NCAA Division II to NCAA Division I status. The Roadrunners are currently a Division I independent. Starting with the 2010-2011 academic year, CSUB will be a full Division I member with postseason eligibility. The Roadrunners are ineligible for postseason play during the transition period.
