Sports

Freshman Carter Shines in Loss to Toledo

Posted on: Tuesday, January 24, 2017

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Jason Carter pump-fakes along the left baseline drawing the Toledo defender off his feet. He then dribbles past the airborne Rocket player and finishes with a right-handed slam dunk.

Perhaps life after Antonio Campbell—whose Bobcat career is over following an injury to his foot—may not be that bad.

Tuesday’s game against Toledo may not have ended the way Carter, a true freshman forward, wanted as the Bobcats lost, 79-76, but he set a new career-high with 20 points and tallied seven rebounds.

“I’m just going out there and playing and being myself, knowing what I can do,” Carter said.

The potential is certainly there and redshirt junior guard Jaaron Simmons sees it.

“He’s been great,” Simmons said. “First start, [Carter] got a double-double, second start he scored 20 points. He’s just going to keep getting better and better and one day he will be the MAC Player of the Year.”

Before writing him in as the conference’s best player in 2019, Ohio coach Saul Phillips stressed that it may be a bit earlier to start thinking about that level of accolades.

“Jaaron doesn’t throw compliments out very easily,” Phillips said. “You have to earn [Simmons’] respect. Although it shouldn’t be on [Carter’s] radar right now. Let’s worry about just getting him ready for the next game.”

That respect was earned on every player Carter was involved in. He brought high-energy to the floor and—for the second straight game—shot 50 percent or above from the field.

But in just his second start since Campbell’s injury, he is not concerned with points or rebounds rather intertwining himself with the other starters.

“I’m just trying to mesh with the team and do my part,” he said. “The more you play, the more comfortable you get and the more comfortable you get with the guys around you.”

And although Carter is still adjusting to the massive influx of minutes—nearly double his average—the more he plays with the starting unit, the more conducive the Bobcats will be, which in turn will lead to better overall outings from Ohio.

The loss did drop Ohio to 4-3 in conference play and 12-6 overall but the difficult loss did not stop Phillips from acknowledging how excited he is to have Carter for a few years.

“I’m extremely impressed but I want to emphasize that I’m not shocked,” Phillips said. “He’s a very good player and he is going to be a very good player for us for a long time.”

Attempting to fill the void left by one of Ohio University’s most decorated players ever is going to be a difficult task to complete. Carter, however, has shown in just two games, he is more than capable to produce results that will please both teammates and coaches.