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The Mississippi St. Bulldogs Men’s Basketball team will look a lot different this year than it did in 2015-16. One of the newest players is freshman shooting guard Tyson Carter.
Coach Ben Howland didn’t have to go far to land Carter. The heralded shooting guard comes to Mississippi State from Starkville High School. If he looks a little familiar and the name sounds a little familiar, it’s because he should. Carter is the son of Mississippi State Hall of Famer Greg Carter who played on the 1991 team that won the SEC Championship. Greg was also Tyson’s coach in high school.
As good as Greg was, Tyson could make quite a name for himself. Carter is a scorer. He averaged 21 points a game his senior season, and throw in the four rebounds and five assists a game he averaged, and you get the winning formula for Gatorade Player of the Year.
According to 247 Sports, Carter was the 97th ranked player in the country for the 2016 class. He was the second highest rated at his position and was a four star composite prospect.
Carter is going to see playing time immediately, and he could see a lot of it. Carter was one of the team’s stars in its trip to Italy this past summer when he averaged over 20 points a game and made 46% of his three point attempts. He’s supposed to be one of the best pure shooters on the team.
But he can do a lot more than shoot. Despite being 6’4” and weighing only 170 pounds, Carter averaged over five rebounds a game and over four assists. He can create opportunities for other players.
There’s no question Carter will want to have a chance to play in the NBA. To do so, I would expect him to put on some additional weight on his frame before he tries to enter the draft. It is very difficult to compete in the NBA with so few pounds on a person’s body.
Look for Carter to play both the two guard and the point some this season. He adds a lot of versatility to the team, and it will be needed for a team trying to figure out what its best lineups will be. Carter will be a fun one to watch.