The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay men’s basketball team must replace several guards next season, notably its biggest leader in senior Preston Ruedinger.
It’s never too early to look toward the future, even as the Phoenix hopes to enjoy far more success in Horizon League play this season after going 2-18 and finishing last in the 11-team conference in 2024-25.
Enter Ahmere Carson, a 6-foot-3 point guard who plays for Odessa College, a junior college in Texas.
After spending the spring and summer playing in JUCO showcases, several NCAA Division I schools were impressed enough to offer Carson a scholarship.
UWGB coach Doug Gottlieb was one of the first, making Carson an offer on the same day in May that the University of Missouri-Kansas City did.
More than a dozen schools from around the country followed the next few months.
∎ San Jose State, the school former West De Pere star Cody Schwartz played at before ending his career with UWGB.
∎ Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, a program coming off an NCAA Tournament appearance and coached by former UWGB assistant Brian Barone.
∎ Valparaiso. Mercer. Eastern Michigan. Cal State Northridge. Chattanooga.
So many schools were interested. UWGB was the one that landed him.
There was plenty about the Phoenix that intrigued Carson, who announced his commitment to UWGB in December.
It is much closer to his native Chicago than Texas. His young daughter lives in Indiana, and now he’s a car ride away from her.
He also liked Gottlieb. He never forgot that Gottlieb and his staff were one of the first to offer. It showed him they believed in what he could bring to their team.
“Coach Doug just made it feel like home,” Carson said. “The coaching staff, they want what is best for me. I just feel like I can go there and help Green Bay come back on the map and be a great player there.”
Per NCAA rules, Gottlieb is not allowed to comment on a recruit until all paperwork has been filed.
But it’s easy to see what he likes about Carson.
He can play on and off the ball. He’s a scoring point guard. He has an alpha mentality. Best of all, he is a leader. His Odessa coaches demand that from him, and he has embraced the role.
Carson is averaging 11.8 points, 3 rebounds and 3.3 assists this season, shooting 44.9% overall and 36.2% from 3 for a team that entered the week 11-2.
He started the season with a huge game in a win against Murray State College, finishing with 33 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and shooting 9-for-11 in just 24 minutes.
The left-handed shooter, who some compare to NBA star James Harden, averaged 12.2 points in 29 games as a freshman, including 10 starts.
“I had a lot of things that I had to do in order to get to where I’m at now,” Carson said. “Just a lot of sacrificing. Just a lot of stuff to do over the summer. Just getting better, day in and day out.”
Ahmere Carson gets serious about his future
Carson has grown up a lot the last few years.
He was recruited in high school but did not have the grades necessary to be eligible to play for the DI teams that were interested.
Carson was a star at Anderson High School in Indiana, where he played his final three seasons after starting his prep career at Morgan Park in Illinois.
He was limited to 10 games his first year at Anderson because of an injury before becoming one of the best players in school history as a junior and senior.
Carson averaged 21.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 3.5 steals his senior year and finished 12th on the team’s all-time scoring list with 1,142 points.
If only his performance in the classroom matched the one on the court.
That’s not a problem anymore. He has a 3.3 grade-point average.
“I just had to change my life,” Carson said. “I had a daughter. That really made me lock in on life and made me realize what I want to do with basketball. … It makes you grow up. You don’t have time to waste on what you want to do.”
Although Carson is considered one of the top JUCO guards in the country, he still has the rest of this season at Odessa to continue to improve before he arrives in Green Bay.
“I just have to get my confidence back and start being more aggressive,” Carson said. “That’s the thing I plan on changing. Everything else will be there. I just have to get my confidence back and play like me. … Making sure everybody gets theirs before I get mine.”
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Odessa College point guard Ahmere Carson talks about commitment to UWGB
Reporting by Scott Venci, Green Bay Press-Gazette / Green Bay Press-Gazette
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
