CALEDONIA — River Valley All-Ohioan Carter Myers has a looming decision.
Will his future include basketball, or will it be about football?
“I’m still in the middle, and I haven’t really decided which one I want to pick for sure yet,” Myers said in late April. “It’s going to be really hard to decide just what I really want to do.”
RV boys basketball coach Rodney Brown admitted it’s going to be a difficult choice for Myers.
“I don’t think he has made a decision one way or the other about whether there’s one sport he’d rather play than the other,” Brown said. “I’d like to think selfishly that he loves basketball more, but I don’t know. I told him whatever you want to do, I will help you.”
Myers as a football standout
According to Myers, he grew up playing football, but dropped it in high school to concentrate on basketball. But going into his junior year, he wanted it back in his life, and he joined the team as a 6-foot-6, 200-pound wide receiver.
What transpired was a season where he made 43 receptions for 631 yards and nine touchdowns, ranking second behind only Conner Stockdale of Northmor in all three categories in the Marion-area final stats. He was a second-team All-Mid Ohio Athletic Conference pick and an honorable mention All-Ohioan in Division IV.
“He is extremely athletic. You could say he’s big for a fast dude, right? You can say it the opposite way. He has an edge,” Brown said.
His size, athleticism and production has earned the attention of NCAA Division I football programs, especially in Ohio.
Myers as a basketball standout
But Myers is also dedicated to basketball and coming off one of the best seasons ever posted by a River Valley boys basketball player.
He averaged 25.5 points, while shooting 57 percent from the field overall, 64 percent on 2-pointers, 38 percent on 47-made 3-pointers, and 66 percent on free throws. He also averaged 6.9 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 0.9 steals, 1.7 blocks and 4.1 deflections. He ended the season with 32 dunks.
He produced two games of 40 or more points and six times cracked 30 points. He also eclipsed 1,000 career points on March 3.
Behind his play, RV won back-to-back MOAC and district championships for the first time in program history.
Add it up and it was good enough to be the player of the year in the MOAC and D-IV Central District and earn first-team All-Ohio honors.
He was named the Fahey Bank Athlete of the Month for March among Marion County boys for the first time, joining his older brother and RV alumnus Carson Myers on the wall in the cafeteria.
“Knowing my brother won it, I was just trying to get it either this year or next year,” Myers said. “I was happy to get it this year. It was definitely up there. I would say that and first-team All-Ohio were on the top of my goal list this year. It means a lot to be on there now.”
The future of Carter Myers
Even if he doesn’t choose football, he’s glad he went back to it, if for no other reason than what it did for him on the basketball court.
“I feel like I got a lot stronger for sure,” he said. “(Football) helped a lot. I didn’t play that (sophomore) year, but I started playing it again. I felt it helped me be a lot more physical.”
Brown agreed.
“I think playing football helped him a little bit with handling the contact he’s gotten this year. He’s able to stay on balance and finish through that,” Brown said. “He’s like his brother in that he can miss a shot, but they get off the floor so quickly to get that rebound before you can jump again, and they’re tipping it back in.”
To increase his basketball exposure this spring and summer, he joined the Nova Village AAU program out of Columbus that will travel the nation. It is a group associated with Groveport native, Penn State grad, NBA veteran and former Denver Nuggets general manager Calvin Booth.
“It means a lot to be on the Under Armour circuit where coaches can actually see me play,” Myers said. “We had our first tournament, and we went 1-3, but it was our first time playing together. We’re looking to improve on that. I played well. The first game I didn’t play too well, but after that, I picked it up.”
He knows what needs attention in the offseason.
“Definitely my ballhandling and becoming more of a guard because if I want to play at the next level, I can’t really play in the post when I’m 6-5 or 6-6. I’ve got to work on my ballhandling and shooting more,” he said.
rmccurdy@usatodayco.com
419-610-0998
X @McMotorsport
Instagram @rob_mccurdy_star
Fahey Bank Athlete of the Month
This article originally appeared on Marion Star: RV’s Carter Myers earns the Fahey Bank Athlete of the Month Award
Reporting by Rob McCurdy, Marion Star / Marion Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
