(Editor’s note: Story by Montana Sports Information)
MISSOULA – The Montana men’s basketball staff recently added two players to its roster. In addition to Kendal Manuel, who hails from the Treasure State, Montana’s other signee comes from across the globe.
Ben Carter will travel nearly 9,000 miles this fall to begin his collegiate basketball career, with Montana once again tapping into its Australia pipeline that has also recently garnered Jack Lopez and Fabijan Krslovic.
“He’s a skilled big that comes very highly recommended to us,” head coach Travis DeCuire said. “He can shoot the ball, he can post and his IQ is what really stood out the most.”
Carter, a 6-10 power forward joins redshirt freshman Kelby Kramer as Montana’s tallest players. While Kramer, a center, primarily plays under the basket, DeCuire liked that Carter also has the ability to spread out.
“He’s more versatile than maybe any of our posts,” DeCuire said. “He can score down low and also shoot the three.”
Carter never visited campus before committing, but he was eager to sign on the dotted line and pledge his allegiance to Montana.
“Academically, Montana is extremely good, and its basketball program is very successful and plays a team-oriented style,” Carter said. “It also really feels like it is one big family talking with the coaches.”
The Adelaide, Australia, native is finishing his high school career at Sacred Heart College, a program that has produced multiple Division-I players over the past several years.
More notably, perhaps, he has made a name for himself on the national scene in Australia, competing on several national teams and most recently winning a silver medal at the under-20 Australian National Championships earlier this spring. He averaged 11 points and nine rebounds per game in the tournament.
Over the past two years, Carter has also participated on under-17 and under-18 national teams and was part of the under-19 “Baby Boomers” Australian National Team training camp. In February 2017, he won a gold medal at the under-20 Australian National Championships.
Carter has spent some time in the United States, as well, competing in the Adidas Uprising Tour two summers ago.
“It’s been a goal since I started basketball to play against the best people that I can and to play professionally at some point in my career,” Carter said. “I know that in the U.S. I will have the opportunity to play against the best in my age group and give me exposure.”
Signing Carter was a team effort, according to DeCuire, with the staff using multiple relationships they’ve built over the years to land the big man. Associate head coach Chris Cobb was the first to make contact with him, earlier this spring, before passing the recruiting off to assistant coach Jay Flores.
“We’re excited to have Ben join our program,” DeCuire said. “It’s very difficult sometimes to evaluate foreign kids because you’re going off of film, so we won’t get a true evaluation until we get him in the gym and see him play at the speed and pace that Division-I basketball operates at, but at this point, his skill set and his thought process will give him a chance to compete early.”
Carter has interest in studying psychology or something related to sports science. Montana’s signing class now includes Mack Anderson, Eddy Egun, Manuel and Carter. Earlier this week, rising senior Ahmaad Rorie announced that he had withdrawn from the NBA Draft consideration and will return to Missoula for his senior season.
