Starkville High School boys basketball coach Greg Carter had a heart attack Saturday morning and underwent surgery later in the day, Starkville High girls basketball coach Kristie Williams confirmed.
Williams said the surgery, which took place at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Columbus, went well and Carter was resting in intensive care. She expected him to stay in ICU on Saturday night and to be moved to a regular room today. He is expected to remain in the hospital for a couple of days to recuperate.
Williams said there was complete blockage and they had to operate immediately to clear the blockage.
“As of right now, everything’s looking pretty good,” Williams said. “The surgery took a little longer because of all the blockage, but he is going to be all right once he gets through the recovery phase.”
Starkville High Athletic Director Milton Smith Sr., couldn’t be reached for comment.
Carter has led the Yellow Jackets to two Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 6A State championships. The first came when Starkville beat Meridian 57-51 in 2010. In 2015, Starkville beat Madison Central 43-40 in overtime to claim the title. Starkville won its final 13 games that season and Carter earned The Dispatch’s Large Schools Coach of the Year.
Carter led Starkville to the Class 6A State title game, but it lost to Columbus High 36-33.
Carter played for Mississippi State from 1988-91. He helped the Bulldogs win a co-Southeastern Conference Championship in 1990-91. He served as an assistant coach at his alma mater from 1994-2001 under head coaches Richard Williams (1994-98) and Rick Stansbury (1998-2001).
Carter was named boys basketball coach at Starkville High in 2001.
Tyson Carter, Greg’s son, signed last fall with MSU, and will be a freshman for coach Ben Howland for the 2016-17 season.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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