Butch Carter
Butch Carter | |
|---|---|
| Born | Clarence Eugene Carter Jr. June 11, 1958 Middletown, Ohio, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Basketball player, coach, businessman |
| Years active | 1976–2000 (basketball career) |
| Known for | NBA player and head coach, especially with Toronto Raptors |
Clarence Eugene "Butch" Carter Jr. (born June 11, 1958) is a retired American professional basketball player and coach. He competed in college basketball representing the Indiana Hoosiers.
Early years
Between 1973 and 1976, Carter distinguished himself in both basketball and football at Middletown High School located in Middletown, Ohio. In 1976, he was honored as Ohio's "Player of the Year." That same year, he became the inaugural McDonald's All-American to participate in the event hosted in Washington D.C.
College career
Carter received a basketball scholarship to attend Indiana University Bloomington and graduated in 1980 with a marketing and business degree from the Kelley School of Business. Although injuries limited his playing time during the early part of his collegiate career, he served as a guard for the Hoosiers from 1976 through 1980.
He earned acclaim by sinking the decisive basket in the 1979 NIT championship against Purdue, sharing co-MVP honors with teammate Ray Tolbert. As team co-captain in his senior year, Carter led Indiana to win the 1980 Big Ten Championship. Notably, he became the first guard to lead the Big Ten in field goal percentage at .547 and concluded his college tenure with an overall shooting average of .511.
Professional career
The Los Angeles Lakers selected Carter in the second round as the 37th overall pick during the 1980 NBA draft. On October 15, 1981, he was traded to the Indiana Pacers in exchange for a third-round draft choice.
In 1984, as the Pacers focused on younger backcourt players, Carter was traded to the New York Knicks for a second-round pick. The Knicks released him in November 1985 to clear roster space for Louis Orr. Shortly thereafter, he signed with the Philadelphia 76ers in December to provide injury cover but was released soon after.
Throughout six NBA seasons spanning stints with the Lakers (1980–81), Pacers (1981–84), Knicks (1984–85), and 76ers (1985), Carter averaged 8.7 points per game. He held an NBA record for most points scored in an overtime period (14) for two decades until it was broken by Earl Boykins.
Coaching career
After retiring from playing, Carter returned to Middletown High School from 1987 to 1989, transforming a previously struggling team into an impressive 18–3 squad. His efforts earned him Ohio Basketball High School Coach of the Year honors, making him uniquely recognized as both Player and Coach of the Year within Ohio.
He then served as an assistant coach at Long Beach State in 1989 followed by a similar role at the University of Dayton from 1990 to 1991.
Milwaukee Bucks
From 1991 until 1996, Carter worked as an assistant coach for the Milwaukee Bucks, supporting head coaches Frank Hamblen and Mike Dunleavy. He transitioned to a scouting role for the Bucks during the 1996–1997 season.
Toronto Raptors
Carter joined the Toronto Raptors as an assistant coach under Darrell Walker during the 1997–1998 season. After Walker resigned following an 11–38 start, Carter was elevated to interim head coach and completed the season with a 5–28 record.
In the lockout-shortened 1998–99 season, he improved the Raptors’ performance significantly, leading them to a 23–27 record. Carter earned praise for nurturing young stars including Rookie of the Year and All-Star Vince Carter and future All-Star Tracy McGrady.
The following season (1999–2000), Carter guided Toronto to their inaugural winning record at 45–37 and their first-ever playoff berth. This made him the first NBA coach to elevate a team from fewer than twenty wins to postseason qualification within two years. The Raptors were eliminated by the New York Knicks in the opening round. Carter was dismissed on June 14, 2000; owner Richard Peddie accused him of attempting to usurp GM Glen Grunwald’s authority. Carter refuted this claim, stating that he had only requested consideration for an assistant GM position.
Autobiography
In 2000, Carter co-authored his autobiography alongside his brother Cris Carter. The book recounted his time playing under Indiana University coach Bobby Knight, including a disputed allegation involving racial insults attributed to Knight, which both Knight and former teammates have refuted. Additionally, the autobiography addressed controversies related to Carter's extensive use of athletic department telephones for long-distance calls.
Post-coaching career
Following his coaching tenure, Carter ventured into the business world, becoming the proprietor of a car parts manufacturing company and dealership. He also established and held the position of CEO for the Canadian Basketball League, a professional league founded in 2014 targeting the Greater Toronto Area. Although the league commenced competition in 2016, it discontinued operations after completing just one season.
NBA
Source
Regular season
|- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|L.A. Lakers | 54 || || 12.4 || .462 || .300 || .737 || 1.2 || 1.0 || .4 || .0 || 5.6 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Indiana | 75 || 0 || 13.8 || .468 || .320 || .829 || 1.1 || .8 || .5 || .1 || 5.9 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Indiana | 81 || 28 || 21.2 || .501 || .333 || .805 || 1.9 || 2.4 || 1.0 || .2 || 10.5 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Indiana | 73 || 54 || 28.0 || .479 || .326 || .764 || 2.1 || 2.8 || 1.8 || .2 || 13.4 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|New York | 69 || 11 || 18.5 || .450 || .256 || .813 || 1.4 || 2.4 || .8 || .1 || 7.9 |- | style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"| | style="text-align:left;"|New York | 5 || 0 || 6.2 || .250 || .000 || 1.000 || .6 || .6 || .2 || .0 || 1.0 |- | style="text-align:left;"|Philadelphia | 4 || 0 || 9.0 || .313 || – || .833 || .3 || .3 || .0 || .0 || 3.8 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career | 361 || 93 || 18.9 || .475 || .307 || .788 || 1.5 || 1.9 || .9 || .1|| 8.7
Head coaching record
|- |align="left"|Toronto |align="left"| | 33||5||28||||align="center"|8th in Central|| –|| –|| –|| |align="center"|Did not qualify for playoffs |- |align="left"|Toronto |align="left"| |50||23||27||||align="center"|6th in Central|| –|| –|| –|| |align="center"|Did not qualify for playoffs |- |align="left"|Toronto |align="left"| |82||45||37||||align="center"|3rd in Central||3||0||3|| |align="center"|Eliminated in First Round |- class="sortbottom" |align="left"|Career |||165||73||92||||3||0||3||
Personal life
He is the elder sibling of Pro Football Hall of Fame wide receiver Cris Carter.
External links
- 1958 births
- Living people
- American expatriate basketball people in Canada
- American men's basketball players
- Basketball coaches from Ohio
- Basketball players from Ohio
- Cincinnati Slammers players
- Dayton Flyers men's basketball coaches
- Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball players
- Indiana Pacers players
- Kelley School of Business alumni
- Los Angeles Lakers draft picks
- Los Angeles Lakers players
- Middletown High School (Ohio) alumni
- New York Knicks players
- Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball)
- Philadelphia 76ers players
- Shooting guards
- Sportspeople from Middletown, Ohio
- Sportspeople from Springfield, Ohio
- Sportspeople from the Cincinnati metropolitan area
- Toronto Raptors assistant coaches
- Toronto Raptors head coaches