STARKVILLE — Starkville High School boys basketball coach Greg Carter will listen to any player that makes a suggestion.
However, the coach listens more intently when the suggestion comes from his point guard. After all, the point guard is his son, 6-foot-3 junior guard Tyson Carter.
“Tyson knows the expectations of our program because he has been around it so long,” Greg Carter said. “He has been coming to the gym since he was 3 years old. He does know what I expect. He knows what I am thinking. When we leave the gym, basketball doesn’t stop.”
Tyson Carter averaged 17 points and five assists per game for Starkville this season. The Carters lead Starkville to a 26-5 record and the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 6A state championship.
For this, Tyson Carter and West Point High’s Ecurb Forest are The Dispatch’s Large School All-Area Basketball Players of the Year, while Greg Carter is being chosen as Coach of the Year (complete stories, Page 1B).
“I always wanted to play basketball, and I always wanted to play for my dad,” Tyson Carter said. “He is a high school basketball coach. That is what he does, and he is very good at it…I have always looked forward to this moment.
“It really has been everything I wanted it to be. Winning a state championship just made it that much better.”
Long-term success
Starkville has qualified for the state tournament in four of the past six seasons. In Greg Carter’s 14 seasons at Starkville, the Yellow Jackets have relied on pressure defense, rebounding, and an attention to detail.
With the younger Carter having watched his dad’s teams play for a decade-plus, he usually knows what is best at point guard. Tyson Carter carries a quiet demeanor, similar to his dad’s style. Greg Carter rarely yells. He uses a calm, stern voice to convey his message.
“The point guard is almost like a coach on the floor,” Tyson Carter said. “He is the captain of the team and the leader of the team. I am quiet by nature, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t lead.”
Raphael Leonard just completed his basketball career at Starkville after ranking among the state’s best in multiple offensive categories as a standout receiver for the school’s football team. Leonard has signed to play football at Florida Atlantic, but he will close his high school career wearing a basketball state championship ring.
“This has been a great experience,” Leonard said. “Through coach Carter I learned so much about the game. You can see a lot of him in Tyson, too, and that’s a good thing. They work well together. We had a lot of fun on the court. It was all about chemistry.”
Greg Carter also guided Starkville to the state championship in 2010 and lost the state championship game in 2003. While the 2010 champions were the favorite for the title, this season’s team flew under the radar. Starkville did not win its regular-season region championship.
“Postseason play has a lot to do with matchups,” Greg Carter said. “You can have a really great team and get a bad matchup. This unit played extremely well together. There was no superstar. On each night, everyone had to pull their own weight.
“If you have hard workers and good chemistry, your opportunities are limitless,” he added.
Tyson Carter felt the same way. Each player took their game to another level during a season-ending 13-game winning streak. The growth and maturity of Tyson Carter proved huge as Starkville navigated postseason play.
“My dad and I watched film all of the time of our past games,” Tyson Carter said. “We talked about working on weaknesses and what we should do in this situation or that situation. Through the course of the season, we kept getting better.”
Greg Carter and wife, Schreese, have two children. Daughter Toria is a junior at Mississippi State, where Carter was an assistant coach for seven seasons before choosing to coach at Starkville High. Greg Carter lettered in basketball from 1988 through 1991 at MSU. In his senior season, he helped lead the Bulldogs to the Southeastern Conference regular-season championship.
“I have watched some of my dad’s games back from when he played,” Tyson said. “He was a really good player. You can see he coaches the way he used to play. Hopefully, one day I can be like him.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
This week
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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