Paul Carter Struggles after Strong Start

Paul Carter, a 6-foot-8, 195-pound forward from Missouri State University-West Plains CC, signed his letter of intent with Minnesota today. Carter, who had 28 points and 14 rebounds in the Grizzlies' season opener, has struggled in his past three games. Carter had been a top recruiting priority for the Gophers. He is the son of Ron Carter, who played two seasons in the NBA.

Paul Carter attracted plenty of recruiting interest after a strong performance in the recent Jerry Mullen Camp in Tulsa. Carter picked Minnesota over interest from Charlotte, Wyoming, and Baylor.

Carter finished with 28 points, 14 rebounds, four blocked shots, two assists and two turnovers in the Grizzlies' 83-75 season-opening win over Labette (KS) CC in the Ozarks Medical Center Tipoff Tournament. He had 17 points, nine rebounds and two blocked shots in the championship game versus Northern Oklahoma-Tonkawa and was named tournament MVP.

However, he has struggled in his recent play, according to Missouri State University-West Plains CC head coach Brian Osterman. He had just one point in a 68-62 win over Independence in the first game of the Missouri State University/West Plains Grizzly Classic.

Carter scored all 11 of his points in the second half and had seven assists in the Grizzlies' easy 100-57 win over the Mid-America Nazarene JV.

The Grizzlies fell to NE Oklahoma cc 71-68 in the championship game as Carter had six points and 11 rebounds.

Carter is shooting just 6 of 21 (33.3%) from the field, five of 22 (22.7%) from beyond the arc and 16 of 22 from the line (72.7%).

Carter has also been in foul difficulty much of the season, fouling out of the first three games of the season. He also had four fouls against NE Oklahoma.

Osterman said that his star player has gotten off to a slow start.

"He has struggled offensively, due to his shot selection. We are a young team with eight of our top 10 players being freshmen. We are shooting just 39% as a team," Osterman said.

Gophers fans will get a chance to watch Carter as the Grizzlies play Minnesota West in Worthington on Wednesday November 21st and Minneapolis Community November 24th.