Carter's signing the first of many to come

Garces senior forward Stephon Carter made it official Thursday: The CSUB Roadrunners are a recruiting threat to be reckoned with. While some find this announcement that the two time Cal Hi preps All-State team member will be staying in Bakersfield next season to play for his hometown Runners, others of us close to the program react with this; "I told you so."
It was only a matter of time before a top Division I local recruit made the call that Stephon did. Weighed his options, looked at other schools and then looked at the program in southwest Bakersfield and said "this feels right." CSUB has already started landing major community college prospects, Jose "Chepe" Lara along with James Albright, both from nearby College of the Sequoias as well as Terrance Johns, the Bakersfield College transfer who two years ago made similar statements that Carter made Thursday, "he wanted to stay close to his support group," and suit up for the 'Runners.
Now it's tine for local high school kids to do the same. When it comes time to make that choice, when the Pac 10 offer is on the table, that CSUB offer will most likely be nearby. There's no formula that makes the bigger teams in Division I basketball better recruiters, their reputations usually proceed them, CSUB is building such a reputation as well, and Stephon Carter's signing is proof of that. But reputations at the Division I level are based on one thing and one thing alone, winning, and that's what the Roadrunners will do in 2008-2009.
With a solid core of your returners as well as previously spoken on transfers, redshirts as well as true freshman, this team is poised to make a decent run this season, a run that will help the recruiting process down the road. There's nothing more alluring to a recruit than knowing he'll be allowed to play on the biggest stage against the best competition, and although CSUB is currently an independent with no conference affiliation, their schedule reads like a lot of top 25 teams in the country. From the Pac 10 to the Big West, the Mt West to the WAC, the WCC to Conference USA, the Roadrunners will face competition from both this season, building that all-important reputation along the way.
Carter's commitment on Thursday was big for this young Division I basketball program, somebody had to be the first, and Carter fits the mold perfectly. He's goal-oriented, level-headed and most importantly excited about what he can do for CSUB and what CSUB can do for college basketball.