By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

For those who followed his career as he prepped at Reserve Christian, Demond “Tweety” Carter’s first three years at Baylor weren’t quite what they were used to.

It wasn’t that the New Orleans native wasn’t carving out a nice collegiate career for himself. Carter started at point guard in each of his first three seasons, leading the Bears to the NCAA tournament as a sophomore, then to the finals of the NIT as a junior. He averaged 9.7 points and 2.9 assists over his first 99 games.

Respectable numbers to be sure — but to those who had witnessed the pure dominance of a 5-foot-10-inch guard who finished his high school career as the leading scorer in the nation’s history (7,457 points over six seasons), who finished with the most 3-pointers in any single season (287), who once scored 74 points in a single game, and who led his Reserve Christian team to six state championships, it almost seemed like an all-too-quiet start for such an elite talent.

But not today. These days, Carter’s game speaks volumes.

The senior has led Baylor (15-4) to the No. 24 overall ranking in the Associated Press Top 25 this season and is posting career highs across the board — 16.7 points, 6.5 assists and 1.3 steals as well as in all percentages (45,42, and 82-percent respectively).

Today, Carter leads his team against sixth-ranked and host Texas Longhorns. It comes only a week after falling just short of an upset over then-No. 3 Kansas at KU’s Phog Allen Fieldhouse. Carter scored 17 points and dished out seven assists in the 81-75 loss.

“He’s playing the way we all knew he could,” said Timmy Byrd, who coached Carter not only though his career at RCS but also in Biddy. “He’s taken leadership of that team.”

‘POINT’ OF EMPHASIS

Carter says that re-evaluated his game over the summer after his team’s NIT run came to a close with a 69-63 loss to Penn State at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

“I watched my teammates like C.J. (Curtis Jerrells), Kevin (Rogers) and Henry (Dugat) and just learned a lot from them,” said Carter. “I started focusing more on where my teammates are, passing and coming off of picks.

“As a point guard, if I try to focus on scoring, it’s hard for us to get going. And my teammates make it easy for me.”

That certainly seems to be the case. Carter’s 6.5 assists-per-game average ranks third in the nation among Division I players and is tops in the Big 12 by a full assist per game. Explosive scorer and teammate LaceDarius Dunn is third in the conference in scoring, and two teammates rank in the conferences top 13 in field goal percentage.

While Carter’s teammates may make things easier for him, he makes it easy for his teammates.

In short, he’s become a point guard.

“Play within the system, and good things happen,” said Carter.

BUILDING A FOUNDATION

Carter was named a high school All-American by McDonald’s, Parade and MaxPreps among other sources after his senior season in 2006. He signed with Baylor, which was then only three years removed from a scandal stemming from the death of Bears player Patrick Dennehy, who was shot to death by former teammate Carlton Dotson.

The school was also penalized earlier this decade for a number of major NCAA violations under former coach Dave Bliss. The penalties left the program in ruin, and under Bliss’ successor, coach Scott Drew, the team won only 36 games from 2003 to 2007.

But Carter saw “something special” when he made his recruiting visit to Baylor, something he wanted to be a part of.

“I just knew it was a special place,” said Carter. “Guys that I just knew I wanted to play with were there.

“I felt like I could be a part of rebuilding this thing. It’s very rewarding.”

Carter’s been that for sure. Under Drew’s hand, the program has gotten progressively better, and Carter has been the point guard that has delivered the Bears back into national relevance.

This season, Carter ranks in the top 10 within the Big 12 in scoring (ninth), assists (first), field goal percentage (ninth), free throw percentage (sixth) 3-point shooting percentage (eighth), 3’s made (second), and assist-to-turnover ratio (third).

It’s a combination that has Baylor on the doorstep of its second NCAA tournament berth in three years — an almost unfathomable place given where the program was as recently as 2005.

HIGH EXPECTATIONS

But simply getting there isn’t enough for the team’s senior leader – two years ago, the Bears bowed out in the first round after qualifying.

“We’ve been there before,” said Carter. “We can’t be satisfied with just getting there. We want to go deep, and we feel like we have the pieces to do that.”

Byrd wouldn’t be shocked. While Baylor isn’t trumpeted in the media as a Final Four-level squad, Byrd’s seen Carter lead teams to extraordinary heights.

“I remember the ‘Slam Dunk for the Beach’ tournament in Delaware when he was here,” said Byrd. “He led us to the championship game … we went through the No. 6 team in the country, then the No. 1 team in Westchester. In the finals, we led (Atlanta Christian Academy) much of the way — and that team was led by Dwight Howard and Javaris Crittenton. We lost by six.

“We beat teams nationally ranked within the top 20 in his senior year. He’s the best player I’ve ever coached, and now he’s showing those skills in college. He’s getting a lot of attention now from pro scouts, and he deserves it.”

Carter’s praise for Byrd is equally effusive.

“He taught me how to be a man,” said Carter. “He’s another part of my family. We have a great relationship to this day.”

SEEING ORANGE

Playing a career-high 36 minutes per game as his team’s lone senior starter, Carter is the unquestioned senior leader of the Bears. He feels a duty to keep his teammates focused, while maintaining his own sharp edge.

And while he’s willing to engage in all the talk of NCAA tournament runs and career seasons, his mind is truly fixated on only one thing today.

“Texas is our concern right now,” Carter says.

“We’ve got to take care of Texas. Everything else comes later.”