A lasting impression

Steve Carp

Wednesday, Feb. 5, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

HONOLULU -- It's doubtful UNLV fans will ever forget Anthony Carter. Nor will anyone else in the Western Athletic Conference for that matter.

And that's saying something, considering Carter was a forgotten man four years ago.

A ninth-grade dropout who wasn't working, wasn't thinking about college and was a prime candidate to get in trouble on the streets, the 6-foot-2 junior point guard for first-place Hawaii has come a long way from hanging out at the Boys and Girls Club in his Atlanta neighborhood.

Not only is he among the top players in the WAC, he has also developed into an off-the-court leader for the Rainbows. They can use that leadership more than ever in the wake of three players having been suspended Tuesday for a violation of the school's student conduct code.

"I didn't have a lot of motivation then," Carter said. "College was the furthest thing from my mind."

That was four years ago. But he met a guy while playing ball in Atlanta who had played at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, Calif. The guy saw that Carter could play and that he had a future in basketball.

The two became friends. A call was placed to Bill Brummel, Saddleback's coach. Carter went back to school and got his GED. He was headed west.

After a successful career in California, he decided to move further west and enrolled at Hawaii. Carter broke hearts at the Thomas & Mack Center by scoring 23 points, including two clutch free throws with a second to go, in Hawaii's 66-65 upset on Jan. 11.

"Here's the deal," he said, explaining his roller-coaster life. "I was playing varsity as a freshman in high school, but I got bored with it. I lost interest (in school). I figured I didn't have to go. Besides, I got tired of getting up early every morning.

"College was the furthest thing from my mind. But I was playing and there were guys telling me I could play college ball. So when I met the guy from Saddleback, it sounded good.

"I had never been to California," he continued. "But it was a chance for me to get away, so I took it."

As Carter was telling his story, a group of foreign exchange students approached him outside the Special Events Arena and asked if he would pose for a picture. Photo ops don't come Carter's way very often, so he obliged with a big smile.

It shows you how far he has come. Even the foreign exchange students know him. And as coach Riley Wallace says, to know Carter is to like him.

"A great kid," he said. "You can pull him aside at any time and say something and he does it. He's on the same page and that's rare today.

"I thought he'd be good. But not this soon."

How good is good? He's sixth in the WAC in scoring at 18.4 points a game. He leads the conference in steals with 53. He's second in assists with 112. He's fifth in field goal percentage. He is the pulse of a highly successful Hawaii team which sports a 14-4 overall record and is 6-2 through the first half of WAC play, headed into Thursday's rematch with 13-6 UNLV.

"I'm not too surprised with what I can do on and off the court," Carter said. "I enjoy being the leader. It's a role I'm comfortable with."

Which explains why Wallace got the ball into Carter's hands in the final seconds of the UNLV game last month. He knew Carter would find a way to make something happen.

And when Tyrone Nesby fouled him and Carter stepped to the line with 17,133 people screaming at him to miss, he claims he didn't hear a thing.

"Not a word," he said with a smile.

He made both free throws. Hawaii picked up a huge win and Carter made a permanent name for himself around the WAC. He's a two-time player of the week.

Making a name for himself is something he doesn't want to do off the floor. He doesn't drink. He doesn't do drugs or run with gangs. He tries to be in control of himself and pass that on to his friends.

"If I can keep someone out of trouble, it gives me a good feeling," he said. "I try to be a role model for the people I hang with."

Yet he nearly left Honolulu before he had a chance to make an impact. He was ready to quit just a few days into fall practice. This wasn't midnight rec league basketball at the Boys Club. This was totally different and he was having trouble dealing with it.

"I wasn't too happy with the situation," he said. "But I talked with my people and listened to them. Looking back, I'm glad I stuck it out. It's not that tough living here. If you do your job and stay out of trouble, you're going to be fine."