When you think of West Virginia University basketball the first name that pops up is the legendary Jerry West. West is not only the greatest to ever don the blue and gold in Morgantown, but he went on to become a legend in the NBA.
There have been other great WVU players such as 'Hot' Rod Hundley, who was the first overall pick in the NBA draft back in 1957. There was also Princeton native Rod Thorn, who had a solid career at WVU and in the NBA.
There were names like Ron "Fritz" Williams, Will Robinson, Warren Baker, and, in later years, there were other great players like Greg Jones, Kevin Pittsnogle, Mike Gansey, Kevin Jones and Da'Sean Butler. There have been others from the past, including the past few seasons that were good.
However, Jevon Carter will go down as one of the best to ever hit the hardwood for the West Virginia University Mountaineers.
The 6-foot-2 guard has had a stellar 4-year career for Coach Bob Huggins and his staff and he is projected to be a 2nd round pick in June's NBA draft.
Just last week the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) announced the 2018 NABC Coaches' Division I All-America teams. The senior guard was on the third team. Carter continues to roll up honors in his final season for the Mountaineers. This is the second All-America team he has been named to so far.
He was all Big 12 1st team and for the second year in a row the Defensive Player of the Year for arguably the best conference in the country. He was the National Defensive Player of the Year in 2017 and has a good shot to receive that honor again this year.
Carter came in to WVU under the radar. WVU and Coach Huggins gave him his only offer to a power-five school. And Carter made the most of the change. Through hours of hard work and dedication, the Maywood, Illinois native turned himself into a great all-around player.
Just look at some of his career stats. He scored 1,441 career points and shot almost 41 percent from the floor. He made 241 career 3-pointers and shot close to 36 percent from behind the arc. He shot 79 percent for his career at the free throw line. He grabbed 538 rebounds, dished out 559 assists and had 330 steals. He was tenacious on defense and was a team leader.
He, along with fellow senior Daxter Miles, led WVU to three Sweet 16 appearances. He played in 144 career games and Carter was involved in 105 victories during his fabulous 4-year career. Unfortunately, it ended last Friday in the NCAA tourney at the T.D. Garden in Boston.
"They're going to go down as the best four-year backcourt in the history of West Virginia basketball, and that's saying a lot," Huggins said. "When they came in, we were struggling - really struggling - and I underestimated the switch from the Big East and how they played in the Big East to the Big 12, and we had the wrong guys."
Huggins said Carter was the hardest working player he has ever had and that is saying something for a coach that has seen many great players from his days at Cincinnati, Kansas State and now at his alma mater WVU. Carter's legacy will long be remembered by Mountaineer fans and he will go down as one of the greats in the annals of WVU basketball.
SHORT STUFF: Nominations for the 2018 induction class for the Williamson High School Athletic Hall of Fame are now being taken. The form can be picked up at the Coal House, Williamson Daily News or Williamson Fieldhouse. Persons can drop off completed forms to Kyle Lovern at the Williamson Daily News, Cecil Hatfield at the Coal House or Brandon Ball at the Williamson Fieldhouse. To be considered, persons must be nominated and the form filled out with important information about them to be placed on the ballot. The deadline is May 5 - no exceptions.
Former Belfry High School basketball player Emily Baker was one of four UPike Bears named to the 2017-18 Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athletes.
This is the first time for Baker to be a recipient of this honor. To be nominated by an institution's sports information director, a student-athlete must maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale, must appear on the eligibility certificate for the sport and have attended two full years as a non-transfer or one full year as a transfer.
Baker averaged seven points and two rebounds per game for Pikeville this season.
Several local players have received invitations to play in both the North-South basketball and football games coming up in early June in Charleston. The final rosters have not been released, but once they are, we'll have those names for you. Stay tuned.
West Virginia University will be hosting its NFL Football Pro Day for the 2017 Mountaineer seniors on Thursday, March 29, from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the Caperton Indoor Facility.
Kyle Lovern is the editor for the Williamson Daily News. He can be contacted at 304-235-4242, ext. 2277, or on Twitter
@KyleLovern.