By Joe Henricksen
The recruiting roll coach Porter Moser and the Loyola basketball program is on continues. Proviso East standout Keith Carter committed to Moser and the Ramblers on Wednesday afternoon.
The 6-0 point guard, who visited the Loyola campus on Monday, is the fourth commitment for the Ramblers in the past month, joining a class that now includes Thornwood guard Darrell Combs, promising 6-8, 225-pound Nick Osborne of Muncie (Central), Ind., and 6-7 Matt O’Leary of Terre Haute (North), Ind., a face-up 4-man with shooting range.
The recruiting class Moser and his staff are bringing in was a key in Carter’s decision.
“From a basketball standpoint, the biggest thing for me was the [recruiting] class that will be coming in with me,” said Carter. “I think each of us have a lot of different things that we will bring to the program. I think it’s going to be exciting to be a part of this. This is an up-and-coming program that I think can win right away with the players they have coming in.”
Carter’s visit was a home run on Monday as Moser sat down and showed the talented guard film of how the Ramblers plan to use him in their three-guard offense.
“We sat down and watched film, saw tape of the offense they are going to run, talked about the style they will play and how I will be used,” said Carter. “And the campus really impressed and surprised me. I had no idea how nice it was.”
Carter, who had various mid-major offers and visited Creighton last weekend, is the No. 9 ranked player in the Hoops Report’s Class of 2012 player rankings in Illinois. In addition to a high-level basketball I.Q. and intangibles, he offers a nice combination of scoring and playmaking ability. While he’s not a blow-by point guard, Carter will knock down mid-range jumpers with range extended to the three-point line. He sees the floor well, distributes and is a terrific rebounding guard. Carter is crafty and just finds ways to make plays.
The high-character Carter will be a four-year starter at Proviso East, where the Pirates are expected to be among the top five teams in the state of Illinois this coming season. Carter led Proviso East to a 22-win season a year ago.
