JC recruit Carter a ‘great fit’

Marquise Carter isn't your typical starry-eyed, first-year Division I basketball player.

At 22, Carter will be one of the oldest players on the Gonzaga men's basketball team and will attempt to acquire a position of leadership rare for a newcomer to a program.

After graduating from Horizon High School in San Diego, Carter spent three years at Three Rivers Community College in Poplar Bluff, Mo. With the Raiders. he honed his craft on the court, but more importantly gained an understanding and respect for what it is to be a student athlete.

"In high school I was just focused on basketball. I didn't realize how important academics were," Carter said. "You've got to take care of your business in the classroom as well as on the court."

Carter was a highly recruited combo guard out of high school but was one core class short of qualifying to play Division I basketball. That same class forced him to redshirt his first year at Three Rivers. That leaves Carter with two years to play at Gonzaga, without the possibility of a redshirt year that is rarely used on junior college recruits.

The year off the court didn't inhibit his play, as he led Three Rivers to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) championship game in his second season, losing to Howard College of Texas despite a 35-point effort from Carter.

Three Rivers Assistant Coach William Durden called Carter his team's "leader," "heart and soul" and a "just gamer."  

"When he went, the team went," Durden said. "He took the big shots at the end of the games. He willed us to a couple of wins. He was pretty big for us."

Carter attributed his team's run to a goal he and his teammates set before the season. He believes a similar goal will be set entering this winter that could pay big dividends for the Zags in March.

"With the team this year, with the guys we have, I'm pretty sure that they have the same mindset and they want to accomplish the same things that I want to accomplish," Carter said. "Gonzaga makes it a lot of the time to the tournament, but I am not going to really be satisfied with just making it, I feel like the team that we have here is good enough to compete with anybody."

Carter committed to Gonzaga in April after a hard-fought recruiting battle with Midwest powers Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Baylor and Wichita State. According to Carter, the most important factor during his recruitment was the relationships, which were strengthened during a March official visit.

"When I came on my visit, that was really when I made my decision because of the people, the coaching staff and everything up there," Carter said. "I felt like it was a great program. I felt like I was going to get an opportunity."

Durden, who took a hands-off approach during Carter's recruitment, called the final decision a "great fit" for Carter's skills.

"They like to push the ball and those are Marquise's strengths," Durden said. "He's great in the open court and he really likes to run and he fits their style of offense."

Carter will look to become a playmaker in a backcourt that lost their greatest contributor from a year ago, as well as three departures who were expected to play significant minutes this winter.

"I'm the type of player that likes to get my teammates involved; I actually love that," Carter said. "When it's a situation where I have to score I have no problem doing that, but my role on the court is to get my teammates involved because the game is a whole lot easier when your team is in the flow of the game and you can just contribute what you need to and just do different things."

Carter arrived on campus Aug. 2, and has been working earnestly, not only on his own game but also at developing the chemistry needed to excel this winter.  

And so the dream is finally realized for Carter three years later, a tournament run behind him and life lessons learned.