The University of Mississippi Athletics
Carter Nominated for Naismith Award
6/21/1999 | Men's Basketball
September 8, 1998
ATLANTA -- Keith Carter, a senior guard on the Ole Miss men's basketball team, has been named as one of 20 preseason candidates for the 1999 Naismith College Player of the Year, as announced by the Atlanta Tipoff Club on Tuesday.
Carter is one of four players from the Southeastern Conference to be named among the preseason candidates. Georgia's Jumaine Jones, South Carolina's BJ McKie and Kentucky's Scott Padgett were also among the 20 preseason candidates for the player of the year honor.
"It's a great honor for Keith to be named a preseason candidate for the Naismith Player of the Year award," said Ole Miss head coach Rod Barnes. "As a coach in my first year, it is also an honor for me to be coaching a player who is a preseason Naismith candidate. It is a positive for Keith and our basketball program.
"Keith had an outstanding summer at the Goodwill Games. Receiving this recognition as a Naismith candidate is the result of a lot of hard work on his part. He has set goals for himself, and hopefully, he will reach those goals this year. We look forward to Keith having a great season. Keith is truly worthy of an honor like this because he has worked hard and paid his dues."
This past summer, Carter played an integral role in helping lead the USA Goodwill Games Team to a 4-1 record and the gold medal. It was the first time that a USA amatuer team had won gold in international play since 1986. In the five games, Carter averaged 7.8 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists, while shooting 48.1 percent from the field and 40 percent from the three-point arc. Carter scored a personal-high 15 points in Team USA's 106-75 win over Brazil, which propelled the U.S. into medal-round play.
Following the 1997-98 season, the Perryville, Ark., native was named to the Associated Press All-Southeastern Conference second team. He was second on the squad in scoring with a 14.8 average and was third in rebounding with a 6.2 average. Carter scored the 1,000th point of his career in the Rebels' win over Vanderbilt on Feb. 11, and finished the season with 1,140 points which places him in the No. 17 spot on the Rebel career scoring chart.
The 6-foot-4 guard finished the 1997-98 season ranked among the SEC leaders in four statistical categories. Carter was seventh in scoring (14.8 ppg), 13th in rebounding (6.2 rpg), eighth in three-point field goal percentage (37.2 percent) and seventh in free throw percentage (76.6 percent). Carter's 6.2 rebounding average was tops among guards in the conference.
The following are the 1999 Naismith College Player of the Year preseason candidates: Elton Brand, Duke; Louis Bullock, Michigan; Keith Carter, Ole Miss; Mateen Cleaves, Michigan State; Baron Davis, UCLA; Khalid El-Amin, Connecticut; Evan Eschmeyer, Northwestern; Dion Glover, Georgia Tech; Richard Hamilton, Connecticut; Jumaine Jones, Georgia; Trajan Langdon, Duke; Arthur Lee, Stanford; BJ McKie, South Carolina; Andre Miller, Utah; Lee Nailon, TCU; Scott Padgett, Kentucky; James Posey, Xavier; Wally Szczerbiak, Miami (Ohio); Kenny Thomas, New Mexico; Tim Young, Stanford.
