There already is a legacy set to play out this season for the Mississippi State basketball team.
There could be a second for the 2016-17 season.
On Tuesday, Starkville High School’s Tyson Carter received a scholarship offer from MSU after he attended a MSU basketball camp last week. The offer is Carter’s second from a Division I school, but it is his first from a Southeastern Conference team. Murray State also has offered Tyson Carter a scholarship.
The MSU offer is by far the one Tyson is most proud of because his father, Greg, played for the Bulldogs from 1988-91.
“Knowing my dad went there, he had a lot of success there, living in Starkville, and going to Mississippi State games all my life, for them to offer me, it means a lot,” said Tyson who plays point guard and shooting guard.
Tyson could join Malik Newman, who will be a freshman this season, as legacies playing for the Bulldogs. Newman’s father, Horatio Webster, played for MSU from 1996-98. Although Newman will play for the Bulldogs this season, many expect him to be a one-and-done player and to be taken in the National Basketball Association draft after his freshman campaign.
The future could yield several other legacies on the MSU roster. Robert Woodard, who played at MSU from 1987-90, has a son, Robert II, playing at Columbus High. He will be a part of the 2018 recruiting class and more than likely will receive attention from MSU.
George Brooks, who is an assistant coach with the Bulldogs, played for MSU from 1992-94 before transferring to West Georgia for his senior year. His son, Garrison, will be a junior at Auburn High in Alabama. He already has received interest from the Bulldogs.
Greg Carter guided Starkville High to the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 6A State championship earlier this year. He said the scholarship offer is a point of pride and a dream come true.
“I’m extremely proud of him. He’s come a long way,” said Carter, who lettered all four years for the Bulldogs. “I guess every father would like to see their son make it, but then to see them make it at the same university you played at, makes it more special.”
The elder Carter led the Bulldogs to a co-SEC Championship in 1990-91. He served as an assistant coach at MSU from 1994-2001 for former head coaches Richard Williams and Rick Stansbury.
Earlier this year, MSU hired Ben Howland to replace Rick Ray as its new men’s basketball coach. Howland has had success at Northern Arizona, Pittsburgh, and UCLA, and has helped several players make it to the NBA. Tyson Carter said he is excited about playing for Howland.
“It’s really exciting knowing all the players he coached, especially guards like Russell Westbrook, Jordan Farmar, Darren Collison, and Jrue Holiday,” Carter said.
All four players played for Howland at UCLA. Westbrook is playing for the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder, Farmar played for the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers, Collison has played for five teams (most recently the NBAs Sacramento Kings), and Holiday is playing for the NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans.
A well-rounded player
Tyson Carter’s offensive game is centered around a 3-point shooting game that has been good to him in his three-year high school career. His ability to develop that shot helped him attract attention from college coaches, but Greg Carter pushed his son to work on other parts of his game, too.
“He’s gotten a lot better over the last couple of years,” Greg Carter said. “He can not only shoot it, but he’s gotten so much better with his ballhandling and his passing capabilities.”
Tyson averaged 17 points, five rebounds, and three assists per game this past season. He said he has heeded his father’s advice and has worked on other parts of his game.
“I’ve just been working on my ballhandling and my shot and my defensive game,” Tyson said.
Bulking up
Despite standing 6-foot-3, Tyson Carter weighs only 150 pounds.
Tyson’s size hasn’t affected him in high school — and it likely won’t — but Greg Carter wants his son to get his body ready for the next level.
“That’s probably the most important thing,” he said. “He hasn’t put on any weight because he’s still growing.”
MSU freshmen for 2015-16 — Newman, Quinndary Weatherspoon, and Aric Holman — who are already on campus, mentioned the weight room as the biggest obstacle on the first day of summer workouts in early June. Tyson Carter said he wants to be ready for his first day of college basketball, so he has already shifted some of his focus to the weight room and working out.
“It’s very important getting in the weight room and getting stronger to be able to take on some of the physical punishment that goes on in a game, especially on the SEC level,” he said.
Ben Wait is a sports writer for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @bcwait
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