St. Anthony's product Elijah Carter signs NLI to join Bonnies

ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. — Third-year St. Bonaventure men’s basketball coach Mark Schmidt announced the signing of Elijah Carter (Patterson, N.J./St. Anthony’s) to a National Letter of Intent (NLI) on the final day of the early signing period.

Carter, a 6-foot-2 combo guard from national-renown Saint Anthony’s High School, is entering his second season under legendary head coach Bob Hurley and will join the Bonnies during the 2010-11 season.

“We’re extremely pleased to get a player of Elijah’s caliber and we can’t wait to get him into a St. Bonaventure uniform,” said head coach Mark Schmidt. “Elijah brings a scorers mentality to the guard position and has the ability to shoot the ball, which we need. The college game won’t be a huge adjustment for him because he comes from a program and a legendary coach that prepares them for that. Players out of that program have played in big games and know what it takes to win. It’s great to get a player from St. Anthony’s and we’re happy to have Elijah as part of our basketball family.”

As a junior last season, Carter helped guide Saint Anthony’s to a 25-6 record and final New Jersey Hoops ranking of sixth in the state. Carter averaged 5.5 points over the 31-game season, but finished the season strong by scoring in double figures six out of the last nine games.

“I think he showed flashes of potential last year,” said Hurley. Through the spring, summer and fall he put those flashes on the floor and in his performances. We expect him to lead us in scoring this year. St. Bonaventure fans should be excited about Elijah because he will get considerably better in the future.”

“Elijah can be a guard that can handle the ball and get you into your offense, but he can also score,” said Hurley, who has amassed 23 state championships and over 900 wins during his career. “I think this year he’ll have some real big games for us and it’s nice as a coach to a player that can produce on the offensive end naturally without always needing direction.”

Carter certainly produced offensively this past summer and really started to hit the scene playing for Team IZOD/Sports University on the AAU circuit. He was named a Top 20 All-Star at both the Hoop Group Elite Camp in Philadelphia and the Eastern Invitational in Reading, Pa. Carter also found his way onto the All-Tournament team at the Hoop Group Fall Fest in Piscataway, N.J.

Carter was named the MVP of Team IZOD/Sports University at the end of the season and led an under-manned team to the quarterfinals of the Is8/Nike Fall-Tip Off. Coach by Eric Harrield, Carter registered at least a trio of big games during the summer and fall. He scored 31 points on six three-pointers against Team New Jersey ABC at the Rumble in the Bronx Tournament at Rose Hill Gym on the campus of Fordham University, and had 32 points and 28 points, respectively, in back-to-back games at the Reebok Classic in New Jersey.

Prior to going to Saint Anthony’s, Carter was enrolled at Life Center Academy. He enters his senior season at Saint Anthony’s as they No. 23 ranked rising senior in the state according New Jersey Hoops.

St. Bonaventure (1-1) is back in action on Friday, Nov. 20, when it hosts America East member Binghamton (1-1) at the Reilly Center. Tip-off on Bob Lanier Court is scheduled for 7 p.m.