‘He’s special.’ SC Pro-Am offers first look at Devin Carter, Gamecocks newcomers
Devin Carter arrived early.
The South Carolina freshman wasn’t supposed to play until the third and final game Sunday, but Carter stepped through the doors of the Heathwood Hall gym just before Game 1. The son of 13-year NBA guard Anthony Carter, Devin Carter is difficult to miss with his thick, curly hair that moves when he moves. Carter walks with a smooth, confident cadence. And with a ball in his hands, he glides.
Sunday marked the first day of action in the South Carolina Pro-Am Summer League, a basketball event that includes current Gamecocks, professionals and other college athletes from across the state. Carter spent the early part of the day taking in the action from the bleachers, sitting next to fellow freshman Jacobi Wright. But by the end of the day, Carter was the center of attention.
Playing his first game in front of fans in Columbia, Carter electrified the Pro-Am crowd, leaping, dunking and shooting his way to a day-high 35 points. Head coach Frank Martin has hyped up Carter since the Gamecocks signed him, and on Sunday the freshman showed why.
“He’s special,” said USC veteran guard Jermaine Couisnard, who watched Carter from the bleachers alongside Keyshawn Bryant. “I see it every day. I see the work he puts in, the time he puts in. ... I know with the work he’s putting in, he’s going to be special.”
A four-star prospect out of Brewster Academy in New Hampshire, Carter was among several new faces representing the Gamecocks at the annual Pro-Am, giving fans a first glimpse of those players on the court.
Carter was an obvious standout, making 13 of his 20 field-goal attempts in Hood Construction’s 90-66 win over Firehouse Subs.
The 6-foot-4 wing showcased his athleticism and explosiveness, using a quick first step to routinely beat defenders and surge toward the rim. In the first half, he caught an alley-oop feed and threw down a reverse dunk. In the second, he brought the Gamecocks players to their feet in the bleachers with a windmill dunk on the fast break. Add in three 3-pointers on six attempts, and Carter is easily the tournament’s leading scorer so far.
But he wasn’t the only USC newcomer to make a splash. In Game 1, George Mason transfer A.J. Wilson scored 15 points on 7-of-16 shooting, adding seven rebounds and a couple of emphatic put-back dunks. And Game 2 featured an enthralling matchup between Murray State transfer Chico Carter Jr. and the freshman Wright, both of whom are vying for minutes at point guard this season.
A Columbia native, Carter Jr. said he wanted to bring some energy to his first Pro-Am in front of his hometown crowd, and he did so by setting up multiple alley-oops off the backboard. He tallied 19 points and five assists, shooting 46.7% from the field and making three of six 3-point attempts. Matched up against Wright — a three-star guard from Legacy Charter in Greenville — Carter Jr. bottled up the freshman early.
“Me and Jacobi have been battling in practice,” Carter Jr. said. “I’ve been knowing him probably for a little minute now because he’s from South Carolina, of course, but he’s a real good and he’s still growing.”
Wright showed in the second half why the coaching staff is high on him, as he took a more aggressive approach and at one point sunk three 3-pointers in a row. He finished with 16 points, making four of seven attempts beyond the arc.
“The way he can shoot the ball, you saw today,” Carter Jr. said. “Three in a row, like once he gets in a rhythm, he’s hot. I always see him in the gym working out, getting up shots and stuff.
“He’s just really learning as a freshman. I’m learning too as a transfer, so we all learn together.”
