Ayden Carter is living a fantasy as a wish becomes reality.
The Fremont Ross graduate parlayed two years at Division II Walsh University into an opportunity to continue his career at the University of Detroit Mercy.
“Once the season ended it was time to enter my name into the transfer portal and try to fulfill my dream of going D1,” Carter said. “The portal process was just that, a dream. In the first five minutes of my name entering the portal, I was hearing from schools looking to offer scholarships, NIL money, etc. to have a chance at landing me.
“I was contacted and offered by schools all across the country, fielding nearly 100 calls throughout the entire process. With that, no visit to another school felt like family as much as the University of Detroit Mercy. From the first conversation with Coach (Mark) Montgomery, I loved everything he had to say and most importantly how he felt about me as a player and a person.”
Carter joins Greg Bender as the only Little Giants boys to play Division I basketball. Bender played at North Carolina Wilmington from 1986-89.
Detroit won eight games last season in Montgomery’s first year, after one the previous season. Montgomery is a former assistant to Tom Izzo at Michigan State.
“I took an official visit to UDM and that sealed the deal for me,” Carter said. “The entire staff treated me and my family with the utmost respect throughout the three day process. They took us all around the city, put me up in a great hotel and of course showed me the historic Callahan Hall.
“I felt that this would be a place that I could thrive in, especially with a great staff behind me and with that I decided to commit. I thank God, my family and all my previous teammates for helping me get to this point in my career and I couldn’t be more excited to begin this new journey.”
Detroit junior Orlando Lovejoy stuck with Montgomery after averaging 16.4 points last season, despite the prospect of more NIL/revenue sharing money elsewhere.
Carter wants to win a Horizon League championship and earn all-conference status. He has three years of eligibility and plans to pursue a Master’s degree in communications.
No player in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference scored more than Carter’s 34 points in a setback to Northwood last season. Carter was among the top 50 in the nation in points per game in Division II.
“I started to gain attention from sports agencies looking to sign me to their company,” he said. “I decided to finish the season strong and enter into the next phase, with my support system as my main source of help.”
He scored 1,000 points in two seasons at Ross and he’s more than half way to 1,000 for college. He started each of the 20 games he played in as sophomore, missing a few with an injury.
He was second in the GMAC at 19.4 points per game to lead the team, was second at 5.7 rebounds and added two assists. He collected a career high 12 rebounds in the same game he scored 34 points.
“It was going into my sophomore year that I knew I was going to earn the chance to show my full potential,” he said. “My dad (Bobby) and I worked harder than ever before leading up to my sophomore season. We hit the weight room every day, skill work on the court and I made sure to be in the best shape I could be.
“Once we got to campus, I solidified my spot as a starter and made it known I had put the work in and grew as a player from my freshman season. I had the mindset and confidence to know I put the work in and had the ability to go and achieve my goal of taking my game to the highest level.
“With God on my side, I was able to do just that. Without Jesus, none of this would have been possible and I give him all the praise.”
Carter was first player off the bench as a freshman. Walsh (24-6) finished first in the GMAC, won the league tournament and advanced to the national tourney.
“I joined an experienced Walsh team that came off of winning the GMAC the (previous) two seasons,” Carter said. “With that, I earned my spot, being the only freshman to not just play (all others red shirted) but to be a consistent sixth-man that played the fourth most minutes of anyone on the team.”
Carter is stronger, which he utilizes in the post, among other things.
“Overall physicality has increased greatly,” he said. “I learned how to take over a game and score in every area of the game.”
There are still questions to be answered by the court because of appeals, but it’s believed all basketball players will benefit from revenue sharing Carter’s first year at a Division I program. Name, image and likeness will remain part of the equation in some capacity.
“NIL is a huge part of college basketball in today’s game and I am thankful to be getting my piece of the pie for playing the game I love,” Carter said.
mhorn@gannett.com
419-307-4892
X: @MatthewHornNH
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