Ian Carter was what college coaches call a 'tweener'. A player who is in between positions because of their size.
Carter, a Northside product, took that personally.
After getting passed up by countless colleges, Carter signed with Drury College in Springfield, Mo. He quickly became one of the best shot blockers in the country and helped turn that into a pro contract as he signed with the Dragons Rhondorff program. It's a German club based in Bad Honnef, North Rhine-Westphalia.
"I’m nervous because I’m the only American on the team," Carter said. "Going to be the only one traveling over there, going by myself. I’ve got to be kind of nervous. That’s just how it should be. I’m more excited just to play in a different country and experience a new culture, new things, have different teammates. It’s a whole different world that God is setting me up for and I’m just really excited."
That shot blocking ability came in handy on the final play of his junior season as his blocked shot resulted in Drury winning the division II national championship, a life long dream for the Fort Smith native. Carter finished his career with 124 blocked shots, a school record, with 42 coming his senior season.
"On film, you could see where I just stood there still trying to play defense after the clock had already went off," Carter said. "Everyone was already running around before I realized what was going on."
Carter finished his career at Drury going 99-27, tying the most wins ever by a player. He also was selected to the Great Lakes Valley Conference all defensive team as a senior. Carter finished 42nd on the school's all time scoring list (1,015 points) and 18th in rebounds (585).