Unraveling the mystery of Sterling Carter and his Seattle U farewell

Sterling “Sporty” Carter made it very clear to me that he did not quit the Seattle 
University basketball team two days ago, but that he was released.

The junior guard, expected to be a top scorer for the Redhawks this 
year, hadn’t played in the last four games.

Based on the above, it’s pretty clear that the marriage between Sporty 
and Seattle U was not working out.

And it’s also evident that the decision to set Sporty free was made by 
the Seattle coaching staff. Back in December, the Redhawks eked out a 
close win at Eastern Washington and Sporty was not in the lineup for the first time. When
 I asked Coach Dollar why, he said it wasn’t injury-related, and that 
he was “just looking at different rotations.”

What, then, is the cause of the Sterling Carter saga?

It sounds like it’s basketball-related, from everything I’ve heard. It 
might be as simple as the fact that Sporty had an itchy trigger finger
 on his shot, and that Dollar didn’t think that fit in with Seattle’s
 style of play.

Whatever it is, the team will probably keep it internal. One player I talked to mentioned that Dollar probably won’t discuss Sporty’s exit until the time is right.

Sterling got at least 14 minutes in each of the first five games this
 year. In those games, he shot a combined 10-44. That is a really, really bad percentage. A lot of those shots were extremely difficult 
ones. It probably seemed like Sterling was trying to go out and win
 games on his own when he came off the bench. Who knows, maybe he was.

The sixth game was the Eastern game in which Sterling didn’t play. In 
the next three contests, he sat until the second half. He entered the UW game
 and took just about every shot he could, including some extremely 
difficult ones. To my eyes, it looked like a player desperate to 
impress, but who was unfortunately going about it exactly the wrong way for Coach
 Dollar.

Dollar has never been shy about benching talented players that he 
doesn’t believe fit in with his system. He did it to Charles Garcia 
back when he was a Redhawk phenom. He’s done it to Clarence Trent this 
year – Seattle’s most talented player got just 17 minutes in the 
losses to SJ State and Virginia.

Sterling’s case seems like the extreme extension of that. Sterling
 wanted to be one type of player, while Dollar believed he needed to be
 another – a player more focused on intense defense and picking his 
spots than taking intensely difficult shots.

He’s the same gunner that he was as a freshman and sophomore when he got more playing time and scored in bunches. Perhaps that’s the problem, that Dollar needed him to become more.

To his immense credit, Sporty doesn’t appear to hold any ill will
 toward Seattle U. He told me he loved being a Redhawk, and that he 
appreciated the opportunity to play in his hometown city, but that
 it’s time to move on, that it just didn’t work.

Maybe that’s the best summary of all. It just didn’t work. This was a marriage between a
 volume shooter and a press/fast break-minded coach, and that kind of 
marriage didn’t work out in the long run. If Sporty can go on to find success at
 another school, maybe the divorce between Sterling Carter and Seattle
 University will be the best thing for all parties involved.

Recap: Redhawks come close but lose 3rd straight WAC contest

It’s not all bad for the Redhawks. Really, it isn’t.

Yes, they’re 0-3 in conference play, but they have been competitive in every one of those games. Each loss was by single digits. Each loss, they had a lead in the second half. In two of them they led with 6 minutes left in the game.

The talent gap is not very big between teams like Seattle and San Jose State, or Seattle and Idaho. Those games are winnable games that this team, brand-new to meaningful conference games, will start winning in the second half of the season.

But for now Seattle sits at 5-8 (0-3) and near the bottom of the WAC.

The guy who in theory should be the team’s best player, Clarence Trent, has really been struggling down this stretch, and never was that more evident than against San Jose State. He played just 17 minutes, shot just 3-10 from the field for 7 points, had 4 turnovers and 3 fouls. He’s settling for low-percentage shots, and isn’t really playing with confidence.

The other guy who could be the team’s best player (or at least most talented), Sterling Carter, might not even be with the team anymore.

Picking up the production in their places were Louis Green, with a career-best game, and Luiz Bidart, as the walk-on added 12 points off the bench with his fearless driving to the rim. 

Those were nice moral victories, as was the fact that the Redhawks came within 5 points of a decent WAC team on the road. And it really isn’t all bad, as this is a talented team. But at some point, these moral victories are going to have to turn into ones that count in the standings.

Preview: Redhawks will try to slow down James Kinney in San Jose

The scouting report on San Jose State is pretty simple – watch out for James Kinney.

He’s the senior guard for the Spartans who is the heart and soul of the team, and he averages 21.2 points per game. That’s good for 8th in the nation, just ahead of Murray State star Isiah Canaan.

And boy, does he like to shoot the basketball. Incredibly, Kinney takes more shots per game (19.1) than any college basketball player in all of Division-I. Another rather amazing stat is that he takes about 30% of his team’s shots per game.

So the trick to beating San Jose State isn’t necessarily stopping Kinney. One way or another, he’s going to take his shots, and he’ll make a few (although he’s not a particularly good shooter, averaging under 35% from behind the arc). Rather, it’s to make sure the shots he takes are contested.

Seattle’s had a habit of letting star players go off for big scoring nights. Idaho’s Kyle Barone racked up huge numbers, as did Utah State’s second-best player Kylsean Reed who went for 20 and 10 boards.

They’ll probably throw a variety of players at Kinney on defense. D’vonne Pickett will likely start out on him on defense, and Jarell Flora will probably mark him off the bench. I wouldn’t be shocked to see Seattle play a good deal of zone, either, just to give him a different look.

Offensively, Seattle might as well feed Sunderhaus, since it worked so well against Utah State. Get him the ball in the paint and let him either make a move or score, or kick it back to a guard to drive to the basket.

And for goodness sake, if the Redhawks could maintain their composure in the last few minutes of the game, that would be nice.

Recap: Redhawks threaten to upset Utah State before again fading down stretch

In their first conference game this year, Seattle led Idaho by 7 with 6 minutes to go in the game. They then surrendered a big run, allowing 22 points in the last 6 minutes, and lost 71-64.

In their second conference game, Seattle led Utah State by 3 with 6 minutes to go in the game. They then surrendered a big run, allowing 25 points in the last 6 minutes, and lost 75-66.

It doesn’t take a genius to spot the pattern.

Seattle played 34 minutes of very solid basketball before fading at the end, losing their composure and dropping a heartbreaker to a now 12-1 Utah State team that stands as the favorite to win the WAC.

Freshman forward Deshaun Sunderhaus was emblematic of Seattle’s struggles in the late-game.

Through the first half, he carried the team. Through most of the game he was fantastic, finishing with 23 points and 10 rebounds – an incredible effort for a player in his second conference game ever. He scored from inside and outside, and USU had no answer for him.

But a slip of his feet for a traveling violation with 2:31 to go turned the ball over when Seattle still trailed by only 5. And in his frustration, he said a choice word or two and slammed the ball to the ground, earning a technical and giving Utah State added momentum that would help carry them to victory.

Deshaun played great, as did the Redhawks for the most part, but unraveled when the pressure was greatest. That happens with inexperienced teams and young players. He’ll learn from this, as will the team. And late in the season, these types of late-game fades won’t be – or at least shouldn’t be – occurring every game.

It’s also worth noting that Prince Obasi continued his very solid play. Although his shot was off (3-10 and just 2-6 from the free-throw line), he still contributed 8 points, 8 assists, 5 boards and two steals with only 2 turnovers. You’ll take an 8:2 assist to turnover ratio from your lead guard any day.

Preview: Redhawks face tough test at league-best Utah State

In all likelihood, this will be the trickiest game the Redhawks will play for the rest of the season.

Utah State is a very good team, like usual. They fattened up their record on an easy non-conference schedule, like usual, with a road win at Santa Clara being the one exception. And, like usual, they are the favorites to win the WAC regular season title, having begun the season with two conference road wins.

As usual, the Aggies are led by a quality guard. This year it’s Preston Medlin. A do-everything junior, Medlin averages a team-high 15 points per game (which is actually below his average last year) and leads the team in assists. He can score from all over the court, shooting above 40% from 3.

Stew Morrell’s squad is more than solid defensively. They’ve allowed more than 70 points exactly twice in twelve games – and one of those occasions was in overtime.

Add it all up, and it looks like a daunting task for Seattle U to roll into icy-cold Logan, Utah (3 degrees F at time of writing. 3 degrees!) and expect to come away with a win.

How could they do it?

Limiting Utah State’s second-chance opportunities will be a big key. USU shoots the ball incredibly well, ranking 4th in the nation at 51.1% per game. To even have a chance at the upset, Seattle’s going to have to force a lot of one-and-done possessions and limit the number of easy opportunities.

The Redhawks aren’t going to win in a shootout, they’re going to win if they can stay physical and win the battle of the boards. Having someone get hot from outside would obviously help. Chad Rasmussen might need to have his best game as a Redhawk to keep the Aggies defense honest.

If this sounds like a lot has to go right to knock off the Aggies, it does. Can the Redhawks do it? We’ll find out. At the very least, we’ll find out how far the Redhawks have to go to become an elite mid-major program.