High-Flying Carter Has Lofty Goals
12/13/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 13, 2001
By Liz Harper
MU Media Relations Office
"Before I graduate, I will be the first Missouri player to dunk. I could dunk a volleyball in high school. Watch and see, I'm going to do it."
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Angie Carter.
Brimming with confidence, Carter, a 5-foot-9 guard, is in her freshman season with the Tigers. A gifted athlete with a 30-inch vertical jump, Carter led her high school team, Spring Hill (Texas) in the following statistical categories - 26.6 points, 4.5 assists, 12.5 rebounds and 4 steals a game - as a senior after posting similar numbers as a junior.
She wants to achieve the same success during her four years at Mizzou.
"I want to help lead the team to the Final Four," said Carter with a determined look on her face. "I want our team to become a basketball program that is a national contender year-in and year-out. I want to help put Missouri on the map."
Throughout high school, Carter also excelled in track and field. She ranked fifth nationally in the triple jump and seventh in the long jump as a senior. She plans to participate with the Missouri track and field team this spring.
"I do like basketball better than track," Carter says with her million-dollar smile. "But I also knew that I'd be more likely to get a full scholarship with basketball."
The fiery guard has more than just athletic aspirations for her four years at MU. She wants to get an education, too.
"I want to do something with sociology," Carter comments. "Maybe become a child psychologist and help kids."
As expected, the transition from high school to college life is not an easy one.
"I'm doing fine in all my classes, but it's been an adjustment," Carter said. "Before you get to college, you hype yourself up to expect basketball and schoolwork to be a lot harder. But when you get here and live it, it's so much harder than you ever imagined. It is so time consuming and so demanding."
Teammates say there is another side to Angie: Crazy Carter. She is said to be a clown, singing and dancing while on team road trips.
"I just like to have fun and make people laugh. I try to cheer up people if they are in a bad mood," Carter said. "A lot of people don't think I can be serious."
One adjustment Carter has made, is being so far away from her home. Extremely close to her family and friends, she never goes a day without talking to her mother and father.
"My entire family lives within 30 minutes of each other in east Texas," she said. "One of the hardest things in going to Missouri has been being away from them."
Based on Carter's attitude, dedication, and willingness to work, she will do just fine. From the basketball court to the classroom, Carter is on her way to climbing the ladder of success.
