The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
North standout guard commits to Akron
Abby Carter still has two years of high school girls basketball remaining — and the North standout guard’s college commitment is squared away. The Rangers’ junior-to-be verbally committed to Akron.
Like many girls her age, Abby Carter grew up playing with Barbie dolls. Well, sort of. “When I was little, I wasn’t strong enough to throw the basketball in the hoop, so I’d shoot my Barbie dolls up there instead,” Carter said with a giggle.
Carter has gotten better at basketball since then. A lot better.
A 5-foot-10 rising junior at North, Carter gave her verbal commitment to the University of Akron on July 29. She has two years remaining with the Rangers, but decided to pull the trigger on the full-scholarship offer presented by Akron coach Melissa Jackson.
“This is huge,” Carter said of her commitment. “My family and I have been talking about this as long as I can remember. It’s always been my dream to play Division I basketball. When I told Coach Jackson I was committing, I was crying, my Dad was crying, my sister was crying . ... We know how much time and energy we have invested in this.”
Carter is coming off a sophomore season in which she averaged 15.1 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 2.5 steals and 1.1 blocks per game for the Rangers, who went 25-2 and advanced to the Division I regional final in Akron. She shot 40.6 percent from the field, 33.6 percent from the arc (with 48 3s) and 78.9 percent from the free-throw line.
Carter also had scholarship offers from Youngstown State and Findlay, but said the atmosphere and style of play at Akron drew her to that program and enticed her to shut down her recruiting cycle with her verbal commitment.
“I took my first visit there in September, and we discussed it then,” she said of her feelings about Jackson’s Akron program. “When we were there today (July 29), I was 90 percent sure I was going to commit. Watching the team warm up, my dad said, ‘Abby, I think this is the place for you,’ and I thought so, too.”
Her father, Ron Carter, was a longtime area girls basketball coach, while her mother Katie has also coached multiple sports, including basketball and soccer.
“Another neat thing is Ron went to Akron,” said proud mother Katie Carter. “When we were driving around, he showed us his frat house and everything. It’s also nice because we’ll get to go to a lot of her games with her being so close.”
The atmosphere at Akron played a large role in Carter’s decision.
“Akron promotes a family atmosphere and has a lot of the core values that I do,” Carter said. “It’s a lot like the atmosphere Coach (Paul) Force has at North. It just felt like home.”
Carter acknowledges she has two years of high school remaining and that other offers could have come in, but she didn’t want to wait.
She was also ready to shed the stress of recruiting rigors.
“People always say when you find your school, you’ll know,” she said. “I was going to make this decision sooner or later. Why not sooner?”
Carter is the second Ranger to commit to a Division I basketball program. Senior Destiny Leo has committed to Cleveland State and will sign her letter of intent this fall.
Force said the presence — on and off the court — of Carter and Leo are instrumental in his program’s success.
“I think college coaches are excited about Abby’s versatility,” he said. “She is a great two-way player. She can score the basketball, handle the ball and defend. I think she’ll translate well to the college game. She has to get physically stronger, but she still has two more years to do that.
“It’s exciting. Having two years left and having the security of knowing what you’re doing when your high school career is done is great.”
With her college decision made, Carter said she is looking forward to turning all of her attention to the basketball court — and to the classroom. Among her personal goals are to improve her skills and strength so she can play a multitude of positions at the high school and college level, whether it be shooting guard, small forward or maybe even some post play.
“We want to try and expose some smaller guards who might be on me (defensively) by putting me in the post and see what I can do down there,” Carter said.
From a team point of view, Carter wants to see how far the Rangers can go after a 25-2 season last year. The Rangers return their entire arsenal aside from guards Maddy Hamilton, Taylor Valaitis and Kenzie Hammond.
“We’ve been in the weight room and gym a lot,” Carter said. “We want to go further than last year. We know there’s going to be a big target on our back. Whenever anyone plays us, it’s going to be the biggest game of their season. We can’t have any lulls.”