History has shown that if you are a top guard recruit in the state of Arizona, you head south to Tucson to play college basketball.
So naturally, it would have made sense for Mesa High School’s Jahii Carson, ranked by Rivals.com as the 35th best player in the class of 2011, to be inking his letter of intent to UA last Friday.
But that wasn’t what Carson wanted. He wants to be a trendsetter. So, instead, surrounded by his teammates, family and friends, Carson signed his National Letter Intent and pledged to coach Herb Sendek and the ASU men’s basketball program in Mesa High’s gymnasium.
Sendek encouraged Carson to break tradition and start a trend of top guards coming to ASU.
“I was the home town guy who was a high profile player in the state of Arizona,” Carson said. “[Sendek] said that I’d be the first really good point guard to come out of Arizona to go to Arizona State. Most of the other guards would go to UA and I can change the tradition by going to Arizona State and that’s one thing that I wanted to do.”
Carson originally committed to Oregon State, but changed his mind and decided on ASU after getting a slew of offers from schools across the country.
“I had pretty much every Pac-10 [and] Big-12 school after me to play at their school,” Carson recalled. “Coach Sendek kept it real with me. He told me everything he wanted me to do at ASU. He wanted me to push the tempo, and bring defensive intensity.”
Carson’s future head coach feels that this is not only a huge commitment for the present, but also for the future of ASU basketball.
"I think Jahii is the kind of guy other guys like to play with and I think he'll have a very strong gravitational pull," Sendek said. "So that will be another thing we can promote and sell in our program. Obviously there's a lot of variables any time you recruit an individual, but certainly to play with a good point guard and a guy who is charismatic and fun to be alongside can't hurt."
While his commitment may influence others to become Sun Devils, ASU is getting a dynamic player in Carson that could make an immediate impact next season.
“He’s very good in the open floor,” Sendek said. “He can break defenders down. He has a burst of speed that is extraordinary. He has a lot of natural leadership ability, he's likeable and he’s easy to gravitate to. Those are qualities that are very important in a lead guard. He's an extremely talented young man, quick off the bounce. He can beat you with his shot, as well as with his pass.”
Mesa High School men’s basketball coach Shane Burcar echoed Sendek’s analysis of Carson, who averaged 23.3 points per game and 5.5 assists per game for his Jackrabbits squad that went 25-5 last season.
“He’ll lead by example [and] he’ll lead by his voice,” Burcar said. “He gains instant credibility with his play. But more than anything, the Sun Devils will be getting a great point guard, and he’s hungry to be successful.”
While a naturally skilled athlete, Carson knows he has improvements to make before taking the floor at Wells Fargo Arena.
“Guys are going to be a little quicker, a little faster, a little stronger and they're going to play defense a little tougher,” Carson said of the college game. “I'm going to have to make more intelligent decisions because I'm going to have to think about what I'm going to do before I do it."
But before coming to college, he has some unfinished business to take care of at Mesa.
“In my senior year I want to win a state championship,” Carson said. “I want to be known as a player that has won a state championship. There are many players that have come through the state and haven’t won a state championship and I don’t want to be one of those players.”
Reach the reporter at andrew.gruman@asu.edu
