Jason Carter’s career essentially began with a broken foot that wasn't even his.
Ohio’s promising season suffered a large blow on Jan. 19 when coach Saul Phillips announced forward Antonio Campbell’s season was done because of a broken right foot.
Adversity officially hit Ohio. Real adversity.
Some have written off the Bobcats, who were voted second-most likely to win the Mid-American Conference in preseason polls.
The concerns are valid. Phillips admitted it’s almost impossible to replace a player like Campbell, especially at the mid-major level.
But from a broken foot came Ohio’s future.
Or, simply, Carter — a laid-back, freshman power forward from Johnstown, Ohio.
“He's an extremely good player,” Phillips said of Carter. “He's going to be a very good player for us for a long time, he's gonna win a lot of games in a Bobcat jersey."
Hardly anyone saw Carter producing, at least not as a freshman behind Campbell and sophomore Doug Taylor.
But Carter has officially taken the reigns from Campbell — the once MAC Player of the Year and anchor for the Bobcats — and steadied Ohio in six games since Campbell’s unexpected departure.
Carter has averaged 14.3 points and 8.3 rebounds during the span. His best performance came last Tuesday in The Convo: 20 points on 50 percent shooting (8-of-16) and seven rebounds.
"I mean, you can’t really replace Tone (Antonio)," Carter said. “I’m just trying to mesh with the team and do my part.”
Carter displayed solid fundamentals on the low block against Toledo’s big man Steve Taylor Jr., a senior.
On one play, Carter received the ball with his back to the basket. Carter backed Taylor Jr. down, then performed a smooth up-and-under post move in the paint.
It’s just one of the moves Carter displayed Tuesday and throughout his freshman campaign. Flashes to the elbow before facing a defender. Step-outs. All moves he’s been practicing since he started playing basketball in grade school.
“It’s just how I’ve grown up with my dad and all my coaches,” Carter said. “They’re always on me, like, ‘you are not going to get anything handed to you. You gotta go out and you gotta work for it.”
Carter's offensive arsenal isn’t as flashy as Campbell’s.
He is a bit undersized for the center position. Listed at 6-foot-8, 224 pounds, Carter is a whole inch and 20 pounds smaller than Campbell.
And that difference could actually be positive for Ohio in the long run.
With Carter on the floor, Phillips said the Bobcats run a more motion-based offense. Instead of relying too much on screen-and-rolls and off-ball screens with Campbell, the Bobcats have relied more on spacing, extra passes, cuts and hand-offs to best their opponents since Carter's start.
The statistics haven’t been quite up to par: Ohio averages 76 points with Campbell off the floor, a point deduction prior to Ohio’s 51-49 loss to Eastern Michigan, or Campbell’s last game. Ohio has not out-rebounded any of its opponents since Campbell broke his foot.
Yet, Ohio is still evolving with Carter in the lineup. And not all of that falls on Carter’s shoulders.
“He’s extremely solid,” Kenny Kaminski said earlier in the season regarding Carter’s rigid style and low-post play.
Carter has been solid in his first 20 games as a Bobcat. He’s averaged eight points and five rebounds per game and those numbers should climb.
And to be a potential MAC Player of the Year, like Campbell, is still to be determined — all thanks to a broken right foot.
“He’s stepped right up,” Jaaron Simmons said of Carter. “First start: kid gets a double-double. Second start: he scored, what, 21 points? And he had a tough matchup, so he’s going to keep getting better and better."
But there's a bigger and better award Simmons thinks is in reach for Carter. It's the highest honor any MAC player can receive.
“And one day he will be the MAC Player of the Year,” Simmons added after Ohio's loss to Toledo.
