Craig Carter joined the Longwood men’s basketball staff as an assistant coach in July of 2014. He brings nearly two decades of coaching experience at the collegiate and high school levels to the Longwood program. His duties will include mentoring the Lancer post players, scouting opponents and spearheading recruiting efforts in the eastern portion of the Richmond area.
Carter served two stints as an assistant coach at Siena College from 2010-13 and 2005-06, bookending his four-year tenure as assistant coach at his alma mater, Rutgers, from 2006-10. He was most recently an assistant coach at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and has also served as director of basketball operations at UMass (2004-05) and UNC Greensboro (2003-04).
“Being offered an opportunity to join the Longwood men’s basketball program is truly an honor for me,” Carter said. “To be able to work with and for a man, mentor, and coach like Jayson Gee will be a great experience for me. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I intend to make the most of it. I will do my very best, in concert with the entire staff to help mentor young men and make the better people both on and off the court.”
During his career, Carter has handled recruiting, game preparation, on-court coaching, implementation of offseason player workout regimens, player assessment and development, academic monitoring and game scheduling.
"Coach Carter comes to Longwood with a wealth of experience after having a stellar playing career at Rutgers University,” Gee said. “He is a seasoned coach who has worked for some great head coaches during his 16-year coaching career, most notably Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery at Siena.”
Gee noted that Carter will contribute significantly to Longwood’s recruiting efforts, ad evidenced by a list of former Siena products that includes MAAC Player of the Year Kenny Hasbrouck, All-MAAC first team selection Edwin Ubiles, McDonald’s All-American Davonte Beard and Mid-Major Freshman All-American Evan Hymes.
“Coach Carter will add to our ability to attract high level student-athletes to our program. He has recruited at a high level while he was at Rutgers in the Big East as well as his time at Siena.”
Prior to breaking into the Division I ranks, Carter held a variety of coaching and scouting positions at various levels from 1998-2003. He began his coaching career as an assistant coach of the men’s basketball team at Norwalk Community College in 1998 and followed with a two-year stint as an assistant coach of the boys’ varsity team at Lincoln High School in Brooklyn from 1999-2001. During that time, he also worked as a scout for Talented Amateurs Around the Globe (TAAG) in Tampa, Fla. and was a video coordinator with the WNBA’s New York Liberty in the summer of 2001. His final coaching stop before Siena was a two-year campaign as assistant men’s coach at Elizabeth City State University in Elizabeth City, N.C.
Carter enjoyed a successful collegiate career as a guard at Rutgers from 1987-91 where he was a two-year team captain and helped lead the Scarlet Knights to NCAA Tournaments appearances in 1989 and 1991. He was an Atlantic 10 All-Tournament selection in 1989 after helping the Scarlet Knights win the Atlantic 10 Tournament and earn an automatic bid to the Big Dance.
A 1992 graduate of Rutgers, Carter owns a B.A. in English. He also spent time in the professional sector as an elementary school teacher in Brooklyn, N.Y., a financial analyst for foreign exchange trading at General Electric and a financial analyst confirmation specialist for foreign exchange trading at Chase Manhattan Bank.
Carter has a daughter, Amber (24), and a grandson, Ellis James (2).
