Ron Carter, the dazzling playmaking guard/forward who helped lead VMI basketball to two Southern Conference championships and deep runs into the NCAA Tournament in the mid-’70s, was announced as a 2018 inductee into the SoCon Sports Hall of Fame. The league office made the announcement Wednesday afternoon.
Carter becomes the first VMI inductee into the SoCon Hall, which began in 2009.
Carter joins 2018 inductees Mike Ayers (ETSU/Wofford), Susan Gardner Mayhorn (Western Carolina), Chal Port (The Citadel), Les Robinson (The Citadel/ETSU) and Debbie Southern (Furman).
The first VMI cadet-athlete to have his jersey retired, Carter scored 2,228 career points for the Keydets, graduating with seven school records to his name, including his scoring average of 26.3 points per game his senior year.
Carter led the Keydets to SoCon regular-season and tournament titles in 1975-76 and 1976-77. Included in those consecutive NCAA appearances were VMI’s runs to the Elite Eight in 1976 and the Sweet 16 in 1977. A three-time first-team all-conference selection and all-tournament pick, Carter was the league’s player of the year in 1976-77 and 1977-78 and the SoCon tournament’s Most Outstanding Player in 1976.
Carter became VMI’s first graduate to play in the NBA after being selected in the second round of the 1978 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Lakers.
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