True to his nature, Anthony Carter was happy to share the spotlight.
“There would be no AC if not for the Fabulous Five and the (other) guys before us,” said Carter, at a reception prior to his number being retired Saturday.
Bob Nash, Al Davis, John Penebacker, Jerome Freeman and Dwight Holiday were already legends when Carter arrived at Manoa in 1996. The quintet that electrified crowds at the Blaisdell in the early 1970s all showed for Carter’s night at the Stan, along with about 20 other Rainbows basketball alumni.
It was fitting, because UH’s Legends Weekend was all about celebrating the past and reuniting teammates, coaches, staff and fans. It was a two-night delight for Chris Walz and Artie Wilson; they were both double Rainbows who played baseball and basketball at UH, and also participated in Les Murakami’s College Baseball Hall of Fame ceremony on Friday.
The hoops alumni on hand Saturday included Eric Ambrozich, Carter’s teammate at UH and Saddleback Community College.
“Everyone knows the stats. … What I want to say is he always worked the hardest,” Ambrozich said. “When the best player works the hardest there’s no excuses, no slacking.”
Often during his two years at Manoa, Carter made the game look easy, with high-flying dunks and blocks to go with uncanny court awareness that led to perfect passes. But any coach or player will tell you defense is about effort, and that is often where Carter shined brightest — enough to be named honorable mention All-American twice and a finalist for the John Wooden Award (basketball’s equivalent of the Heisman).
“It’s like I taught my son: Always play both sides of the court hard, because you never know when it will be your last time playing,” Carter said.
Devin Carter is a guard with the Sacramento Kings who was drafted 13th overall in 2024. AC’s son was an excellent 3-point shooter at Providence two years ago, making 38% of them while earning Big East Player of the Year honors, scoring 21.4 points per game.
That was one part of his father’s game that needed improvement for him to get a chance in the NBA after going undrafted in 1998. AC was a long shot without a long shot, but he met that challenge, well enough to play 13 years for six teams in the NBA, where the average length of a career is less than five years. He averaged nearly 20 minutes in his 623 games.
Since his retirement in 2012, Carter has been an assistant coach just as long, now with the Memphis Grizzlies since 2023.
Carter’s success is all the more impressive considering his earliest basketball and life lessons were learned in tough pickup games, and he had to earn a high school equivalency before enrolling at Saddleback.
“Never in a million years would I have dreamed of (being celebrated in Hawaii), growing up in one of the hardest parts of Atlanta,” he said Saturday. “Y’all brought a lot of joy to my heart.”
He certainly reciprocated many times over, as Carter and sharpshooting backcourt mate Alika Smith filled the arena on a regular basis. They were dubbed the Dynamic Duo by Dick Vitale, who called them the best guard tandem in the nation.
When AC was asked to name a favorite game, at first he replied with, “Every game, as long as y’all was happy.”
But it didn’t take much more prodding for Carter to choose the one most would agree with.
“I’d say Kansas.”
It still stands as the biggest upset victory in UH basketball history, in the championship game of the Rainbow Classic, back when it was considered a great holiday tournament.
“I know y’all are conservative fans, but if y’all would’ve rushed the floor it would’ve been even more exciting,” Carter said, drawing a laugh from the crowd.
Since this is a story partly about retirement of a number, I asked Carter how he got 23. I’d always assumed it had something to do with a certain other No. 23 almost everybody who played basketball in the 1990s wanted to be like.
“That’s just the number they gave me,” Carter said. “When I got to the NBA I picked 25. The only thing I have in common with Michael Jordan is I’m bald headed like him.”
Carter was here physically for just two years. But his time at Manoa still pays dividends, literally. Any time the ‘Bows win a game, even now, he is part of the reason; early in his NBA career he donated $100,000 for an endowment fund to support UH hoops.
It’s a forever gift, like the baseball stadium a few feet away named for the man it would not exist without, Les Murakami.
The baseball team won on his night, and the basketball team did so, too, on AC’s night.
Carter is still all substance, with just the right amount of style. Plenty of grit, but lots of grins, too — especially on this night, and especially with kids, way too young to know anything about him.
“He was a wonderful person as a young man,” said Valerie Ishii, an AC fan in the ’90s who remains one today. “He’s even better now. It’s his character.”
It’s what retired assistant coach Jackson Wheeler saw in him, too, when he recruited Carter. Wheeler beamed with pride Saturday, and UH’s then head coach Riley Wallace sent a congratulatory message from Illinois.
What’s an ice cream sundae without the cherry on top?
Pretty good, but not complete, right?
The Rainbows’ overtime win after Carter’s No. 23 was raised to the rafters next to Nash’s 33 at halftime made it perfect.
“The feeling was like when the crowd that would be there for AC’s games,” UH media relations director Derek Inouchi said. “I don’t want to say this is the best weekend in UH sports history, because we’ve had some national championships. But it’s right up there, celebrating all these legends.
“Maybe it’s recency bias.”
Or, we could call it legacy bias. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.
