Garces star staying close to home
| Friday, Oct 24 2008 02:07 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.
Garces student Stephon Carter carries his nephew Jakobie Glover, Thursday at school during a party in his honor announcing his verbal commitment to play basketball at CSUB.
Garces basketball star Stephon Carter glanced up from his notes, under his new blue baseball cap, and surveyed the crowd assembled.
"It's been a dream of mine to play basketball in college, and this is the next logical step for me," he said.
That next step, as it turns out, is just down the road at Cal State Bakersfield.
Carter, twice The Californian's All-Area Player of the Year, verbally committed "with dedication" to play basketball for the Roadrunners on Thursday at Garces. He can officially sign a letter of intent when the early signing period begins Nov. 12. He said he plans on sending in a letter to CSUB coach Keith Brown that very day.
"I just feel Bakersfield is the right place," Carter said, "even though it wasn't a household name or a bigger college. I just felt more comfortable and welcomed there."
The announcement is a coup for CSUB, considering Carter also had scholarship offers from Arizona State, Colorado State and Fresno State, not to mention interest from dozens of other big-name schools across the West.
"He had interest from a lot of different schools," Garces coach Gino Lacava said. "Just last year, I talked to at least 25 different schools who all wanted him."
Carter, a 6-foot-3 wing who averaged 23.4 points, 7.6 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.8 steals a game last year, said his college choice came down to familiarity and support.
"I'm not a kid with the most fortunate upbringing," said Carter, who lives with teammate Ryan Bush's family and whose brother was fatally shot in June. "I feel that being around coaches that have taken me under their respective wings and guided me through my teen years have always steered me in the correct direction.
"I feel it would be foolish to abandon that support network."
Carter said he was sold on the Roadrunners when they told him he could be an impact player as a freshman, and then visited his mother in Stockton and his father in Pasadena.
"That was when I was really like, 'I could see myself here,'" Carter said.
But the fact that CSUB is in his hometown didn't hurt either.
"People can watch me play there," Carter said. "I've gotten text messages and phone calls from people excited to watch. And that makes me feel good, to know that they can watch me play college ball."
The Roadrunners, who began transition to Division I two years ago and will be a full D-I member next school year, hope to join the Big West Conference by 2010-2011, which would be Carter's sophomore year.
"I'd like to win the Big West by my senior year," Carter said. "It'd be nice to go to the Big Dance (NCAA Tournament) and have some fun for Bakersfield. ... I would love to help them get to that level."
Among those cheering him on would be Lacava and the rest of his coaches and teammates from his Bakersfield years.
"From a selfish standpoint, it's nice to have him in town," Lacava said. "... But for him to stay in town, I think it's a testament to his character. I think it's a very well-educated decision as a player and a student."
CSUB coaches are prohibited by NCAA rules from commenting on prospective players until they have received signed letters of intent.
