“We are really excited to add Nahziah to our recruiting class,” coach Archie Miller said in a press release. “We evaluated him during most of July, and even though there was a chance he would reclassify his recruiting because of his young age in relation to others in his class. We offered him in hopes he would be willing to come to us as a 2017 recruit.
“You have to like everything about him, academically and athletically. We feel that we have a great platform for him to improve on the court and off. He has tremendous upside. He is extremely athletic, has good size and is an excellent shooter. He is a gifted scorer.”
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Carter is a senior at Bishop Kearney High School in Rochester, N.Y. He averaged 15.1 points per game as a junior. Last summer as a 16-year-old playing on a team full of 18- and 17-year-old players, he averaged 10.7 points for the Albany City Rocks in the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League.
“This is a great get for Dayton,” City Rocks President Jimmy Hart said. “The good thing for him is he’s a smart kid. He gets it. He’ll develop more under coach (Archie) Miller than he would in a prep school. Longer term this is a better decision for him. He’s a good student. He wants to go to college. He didn’t really want to go to prep school. A lot of people said to him, ‘Oh Naz, you’re only 16. The other kids are 17 or 18. You’re a perfect candidate.’ And he is. But some kids are trying to find a way to game the system. ‘If I do this, I’ll be ranked higher.’ Naz isn’t about that.”
Carter’s high school coach Kevin Goode described Carter as a phenomenal scorer and good athlete. He’s a three-star recruit who ranked 53rd at his position in the class of 2017, according to ESPN.
“He’s going to fit right into the system they’re playing,” Goode said. “He’s a true gym rat, always focusing on how he can get better. His 1-on-1 skills are phenomenal. He’s very hard to guard. He’s been growing every year since eighth grade, two inches, three inches. I want to say he grew another 2½ inches over the summer. He’s gotten stronger. We did a lot of weight training. He’s just going to be a man child in high school. He can jump out of the gym. He’s an exciting player.”
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