BleedGopher
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per this blog update from Marcus:
At the start of practices last October, Paul Carter looked like the best all-around player for the Gophers. An injury-plagued season kept him from living up to that hype, but he's already having a strong summer.
Illinois director of basketball Sean Harrington coached Carter on the Sports Reach ministry team that went to China for eight exhibition games ending last week. He watched as Minnesota's 6-foot-8 forward sunk jump shots, soared for rebounds and blocked shots and finished strong at the rim throughout the trip.
Harrington said Carter, who led the team with 15.6 points and 11 rebounds a game, was a different player than the one he saw in Big Ten Conference play last season.
"He shot it pretty well, and I didn't think he shot a very good percentage during the year," he said about Carter hitting 67 percent of his field goals (52 of 87) in eight games in China. "He did a good job of shooting the three. He shot a decent percentage, even if he didn't get that many shot attempts. And his mid-range game was pretty good."
Carter missed five games with an ankle injury early last year. He never seemed to fully get the spring back in his legs the rest of the season, but Harrington said Carter's athleticism was impressive.
"They did a dunk contest at halftime of every game," he said. "We usually picked a couple different guys to do it each time. He did it three or four times for us, and he was able to get up pretty good."
Although the trip was mostly spent on the court, the eight players, including Alex Legion and Dominique Keller of Illinois and Oakdale's Kwadzo Ahelegbe of Northern Iowa, were able to visit several historical sites in China, including the Great Wall.
"It's something the guys really enjoyed," Harrington said. "Obviously, it's not something you can see here in the states. It was a pretty cool experience."
The basketball fans in China also showed their love for the game. Playing in eight different venues against Chinese professional teams and the Jordan national team (former Gophers player Jamal Abu-Shamala didn't play for Jordan), the Sports Reach team finished 4-3-1, but always drew a large crowd.
"The atmosphere was great," he said. "We played in anywhere from a 2,000-seat arena to a 10,000-seat arena, and just about every single game was sold out. They were just excited to have us out there, especially the young kids trying to get autographs from the players."
-- I'm not sure about the competition that Carter faced in China, but I'm not shocked at all about the way he was able to score and rebound for Sports Reach. Harrington said he needed Carter to play a lot of minutes in the post, because of the team's lack of size. Carter led the Gophers in rebounding (4.5) in only 16 minutes a game, so imagine if he played 10-12 more minutes a game. Carter also had several games with more than 10 shot attempts in China. If Carter put up more shots last season, then he would have scored more than 5.3 points a game. The only game he reached double figures in shot attempts was against Indiana at home. Carter scored 22 points on 7 for 13 shooting in 22 minutes.
-- Here are some of Carter's game totals in China: 15 points and 12 rebounds in Game 1 against Northeast Tigers, 19 points, 17 rebounds, four steals and five blocks in Game 2 against Northeast Tigers, 22 points on 10 for 15 shooting and 11 rebounds in Game 6 against Shanxi, 12 points and 11 rebounds in Game 7 against the Jordan national team and 13 points and 10 rebounds in Game 8 against the Jordan national team.
http://blogs.twincities.com/gophers/2009/06/china-trip-showed-the-real-car.html
Go Gophers!!
At the start of practices last October, Paul Carter looked like the best all-around player for the Gophers. An injury-plagued season kept him from living up to that hype, but he's already having a strong summer.
Illinois director of basketball Sean Harrington coached Carter on the Sports Reach ministry team that went to China for eight exhibition games ending last week. He watched as Minnesota's 6-foot-8 forward sunk jump shots, soared for rebounds and blocked shots and finished strong at the rim throughout the trip.
Harrington said Carter, who led the team with 15.6 points and 11 rebounds a game, was a different player than the one he saw in Big Ten Conference play last season.
"He shot it pretty well, and I didn't think he shot a very good percentage during the year," he said about Carter hitting 67 percent of his field goals (52 of 87) in eight games in China. "He did a good job of shooting the three. He shot a decent percentage, even if he didn't get that many shot attempts. And his mid-range game was pretty good."
Carter missed five games with an ankle injury early last year. He never seemed to fully get the spring back in his legs the rest of the season, but Harrington said Carter's athleticism was impressive.
"They did a dunk contest at halftime of every game," he said. "We usually picked a couple different guys to do it each time. He did it three or four times for us, and he was able to get up pretty good."
Although the trip was mostly spent on the court, the eight players, including Alex Legion and Dominique Keller of Illinois and Oakdale's Kwadzo Ahelegbe of Northern Iowa, were able to visit several historical sites in China, including the Great Wall.
"It's something the guys really enjoyed," Harrington said. "Obviously, it's not something you can see here in the states. It was a pretty cool experience."
The basketball fans in China also showed their love for the game. Playing in eight different venues against Chinese professional teams and the Jordan national team (former Gophers player Jamal Abu-Shamala didn't play for Jordan), the Sports Reach team finished 4-3-1, but always drew a large crowd.
"The atmosphere was great," he said. "We played in anywhere from a 2,000-seat arena to a 10,000-seat arena, and just about every single game was sold out. They were just excited to have us out there, especially the young kids trying to get autographs from the players."
-- I'm not sure about the competition that Carter faced in China, but I'm not shocked at all about the way he was able to score and rebound for Sports Reach. Harrington said he needed Carter to play a lot of minutes in the post, because of the team's lack of size. Carter led the Gophers in rebounding (4.5) in only 16 minutes a game, so imagine if he played 10-12 more minutes a game. Carter also had several games with more than 10 shot attempts in China. If Carter put up more shots last season, then he would have scored more than 5.3 points a game. The only game he reached double figures in shot attempts was against Indiana at home. Carter scored 22 points on 7 for 13 shooting in 22 minutes.
-- Here are some of Carter's game totals in China: 15 points and 12 rebounds in Game 1 against Northeast Tigers, 19 points, 17 rebounds, four steals and five blocks in Game 2 against Northeast Tigers, 22 points on 10 for 15 shooting and 11 rebounds in Game 6 against Shanxi, 12 points and 11 rebounds in Game 7 against the Jordan national team and 13 points and 10 rebounds in Game 8 against the Jordan national team.
http://blogs.twincities.com/gophers/2009/06/china-trip-showed-the-real-car.html
Go Gophers!!
