Ben Carter: Izzo, MSU 'a match made in heaven' for him

Tom Izzo landed some much-needed help in the paint. Ben Carter found the perfect new home.

The forward from Las Vegas announced his plans to transfer to Michigan State after spending last season at UNLV. He is immediately eligible to play in 2016-17 as a graduate transfer.

“I think for me, Michigan State was the right decision because when I went up on my visit and met with coach Izzo, he really stressed the importance of a family culture on the team,” Carter said Wednesday. “He made it clear to me that there’s a spot that needs to be filled, and it was something I was looking for. The situation fit.”

Basketball runs in Carter’s family. His father, Mike, played professionally for 17 years overseas, including 13 in Tel Aviv, Israel, where Ben was born before the family relocated to Las Vegas. Mike Carter coached his son growing up and on the AAU circuit.

The 6-foot-9, 225-pound forward began his career at Oregon before transferring to UNLV. Carter averaged 8.6 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 24 minutes and shot 55.6 percent from the field last winter in his only season with the Running Rebels. However, he tore his left anterior cruciate ligament in late January and missed the rest of the season.

Carter is undergoing rehab and physical therapy in Las Vegas said he hopes to be 100 percent by mid-September or early October.

“The rehab is going awesome and I’m doing really well,” he said. “I should be clear to go by then.”

If healthy, the 21-year-old Carter will give MSU’s depleted frontcourt an infusion. The Spartans lost forward Deyonta Davis to the NBA after one year and forwards Marvin Clark and Javon Bess transferred. Matt Costello and Colby Wollenman also graduated, leaving rising senior Gavin Schilling and redshirt sophomore Kenny Goins as the Spartans’ only experienced post players.

“He’s an absolute winner, first and foremost,” said Southern Utah coach Todd Simon, who coached Carter at UNLV last season. “He’s a guy that really understands the game of basketball from that winning standpoint. He understands the significance of all the dirty work – taking charges, setting hard screens, doing the right things. From that point alone, his blue-collar mentality will fit in with Michigan State basketball.”

Carter said he transferred initially to UNLV to be closer to home and play for coach Dave Rice, who was fired in January. Fowler native Simon, who also coached Schilling at Findlay Prep in Las Vegas, took over for Rice with the Runnin’ Rebels.

“Gavin’s more an athlete. He’s really a really physical, strong big that can get out in transition and command the paint,” Simon said. “Ben is a little bit different, more of a stretch guy. He’s can beat you with heart and energy and effort and basketball IQ. He can make plays off the bounce on the perimeter in terms of a play-making mentality. He’s a little savvy. I think they could play off each other pretty well.”

In two seasons at Oregon, Carter averaged just 2.5 points and 2.4 rebounds in 12.7 minutes in 62 games. He was suspended for nine games at the start of the 2013-14 for violating NCAA rules by selling team-issued gear. He sat out 2014-15 at UNLV as a redshirt after his first transfer.

Carter told RunRebs.com that his father was unhappy with his initial choice of the Ducks when he was coming out of Bishop Gorman High in Las Vegas. He also said his dream as a player is to “stand on a ladder, cut down a piece of a net and look into the stands and see my father."

“My parents really loved everything up there and really enjoyed the campus,” Carter said. “They thought coach Izzo and his staff were wonderful. For me, I got along with the guys really well there. Coach Izzo made it clear that it seemed like a match made in heaven, and I couldn’t agree more.”

Neither Izzo, his staff nor MSU can comment until Carter signs with the school. Carter said he plans to finish his degree in public administration at UNLV and arrive in East Lansing during the summer.

With Goins again expected to get a scholarship this fall, the Spartans have one open scholarship remaining and still may be chasing another big man. Adam Zagoria of SNY.com reported Thursday that Taurean Thompson, a 6-10 forward from Brewster Academy in New Hampshire, expects to visit MSU after receiving a scholarship offer from the Spartans. Ranked No. 75 by ESPN in the 2016 class and a 4-star recruit by 247Sports.com, Thompson visited Syracuse last weekend and also is reportedly considering Seton Hall, Connecticut and others.

MSU already has two highly rated forwards signed in its four-player incoming freshman class. Miles Bridges, a McDonald's All-American, is a swingman, while Nick Ward is a power forward/center.