43 Jared Carter

Jared Carter was born Jared Carter on September 20, 1986, in Georgetown, Kentucky, to Jeff and Kathy Carter. Basketball height ran through his family: his father, a 6-foot-10 former Georgetown College player, his 6-foot-2 mother and his 6-foot-11 grandfather. Carter returned to Georgetown from Burlington, North Carolina, in 2002 and enrolled at Scott County High School. As a senior, the 7-foot-2 center averaged 16.3 points, 9.8 rebounds and 6.4 blocks while leading the Cardinals to a 27-4 record. His state-record 200 blocked shots helped earn him first-team All-State honors and attracted scholarship offers from Kentucky, North Carolina, Illinois and Georgia Tech.

Carter signed with Kentucky and Tubby Smith in April 2005, joining a roster that already included seven-footers Shagari Alleyne and Lukasz Obrzut. Although his size and eagerness impressed Smith, Carter found consistent minutes difficult to secure against quicker and stronger college opponents. He appeared in 17 games as a freshman and showed occasional promise around the basket.

His sophomore season was derailed by a dislocated right shoulder suffered during practice in November 2006. Carter returned briefly and appeared in three games before reinjuring the shoulder in December, requiring reconstructive surgery and an extended rehabilitation.

Carter returned under new coach Billy Gillispie as a junior, but another dislocation during his recovery and the lingering physical and mental effects of two shoulder operations limited his role. He nevertheless continued working in practice and earned a career-high 16 minutes against Houston on December 18, 2007, scoring a career-best six points while Kentucky played without Patrick Patterson.

As Kentucky’s lone senior in 2008–09, Carter provided experience and perseverance to a young roster even though the larger role discussed before the season never developed. He appeared in 10 games and received his first career start against Georgia on Senior Night, March 4, 2009. Carter scored two points in four minutes as the Rupp Arena crowd honored a home-state Wildcat whose career had been repeatedly interrupted by injury.

That Senior Night start became the defining moment of Carter’s Kentucky career. Rather than being remembered for a long statistical résumé, he is remembered for remaining with the program through coaching changes, two shoulder surgeries and countless hours of rehabilitation. Carter completed his four seasons with 40 points in 42 games while playing for both Smith and Gillispie.

During the summer of 2008, Carter and teammate Ramon Harris represented Athletes in Action during a 13-day trip to Mali, where the team competed against national squads from Mali, Ivory Coast and Guinea. After Kentucky, Carter pursued professional basketball, including time in the NBA Development League and overseas in Spain and Japan. His journey from Scott County record-setter to Kentucky senior remains a story of persistence and loyalty in the face of unusually difficult injuries.