Reserve Christian roundballer grabs national spotlight

Published 12:00 am Monday, October 25, 2004

Carter already has colleges chasing him

By KEVIN CHIRI

Publisher

RESERVE – Demond “Tweetie” Carter makes it all sound so easy.

“Hard work, I just work really hard at the things that need to improve,” the Reserve Christian Eagle all-stater said, trying to explain how he is already becoming one of the top prep high schoolers on the roundball court.

Carter, now a junior for Reserve Christian as the new basketball season kicked off this week, might have a little more explaining to do.

Lots of players work hard, but few are achieving the levels the 5-10, junior point guard, is reaching.

Starting as only an eighth grader, he was named all-state in his first high school season, and has made all state three straight years since then.

Averaging 23 points a game last year for the Eagles, he has helped them win two state championships in the past three years and was named the Freshman Player of the Year by Student Sports Magazine.

And that’s not all, folks.

How about already playing in the Olympic USA Festival, or being invited to the “Rumble in the Bronx” in New York City where he played alongside the best high school players in the country, or going to the “Slam Dunk Tournament” in Delaware with his team.

OK, so that’s enough for now. You get the idea.

Reserve Christian and Carter are already feeling the impact from having a basketball player considered one of the best in the country at his position, and that is still with two years of playing ahead of him.

Just this week, head coach Timmy Byrd handed Carter his regular stack of letters from colleges throughout the nation. They included Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville and more. Just about every top program in the country is already making contact with Carter, hoping they hit the “Tweetie Sweepstakes” next year when he selects a place to move on to college.

“So far it’s a lot of fun getting this kind of attention,” Carter said. “But every day I go out there and know I can’t quit working. Lately I’ve been working more on my left hand so I could be just as good with both hands. There is always something to work on.”

But Carter, a key part of the highly successful Reserve Christian basketball program, says there is one other ingredient that has been the real key to his progress.

“I keep God first in everything I do, that’s really the biggest reason I’ve done well,” he noted. “Coach Byrd has been great, and he’s probably helped me more than anyone. But keeping God first is what I try to do every day. That’s really the most important thing.”

Just this past summer with his AAU team, Carter traveled to Florida, Virginia, Texas and New York for various tournament action, and has attended the highly rated Nike camp in Indiana as well.

“It feels good to get a chance to do these things, and it’s a lot of fun with what is happening,” he remarked. “But I have to focus on keeping a good attitude. It’s easy for people to think I have a big head from all the attention, so I try to stay around the right kind of people who will keep me on track.”

Carter said he is far away from having an idea where he may want to go for college.

“I know I want to go somewhere I can play right away, but other than that, I’m just enjoying what’s happening,” he added.

And for local basketball fans, the real enjoyment might be watching the talented area point guard for two more years, as he dazzles the opposition in leading the Reserve Christian Eagles.