Sincere Carry: 3 things to know about the Kent State Golden Flashes basketball guard
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
March Madness is about to begin and Kent State redshirt senior guard Sincere Carry is a major reason the Golden Flashes are dancing once again by winning the Mid-American Conference Tournament.
Led by Carry, Kent State takes a 28-6 record into the NCAA Tournament, where the Flashes are a No. 13 seed in the Midwest Regional. KSU plays No. 4 Indiana (22-11) in a first-round game at MVP Arena in Albany, New York. The game is scheduled to tip at 9:55 p.m. Friday.
Kent is an underdog, but because of the play of Carry and others the Flashes are a trendy pick to be one the mid-majors who makes noise in the tournament.
2023 NCAA Tournament:March Madness | Midwest Region odds, picks and predictions
Here's some basic information about Sincere Carry:
Height: 6 feet, 1 inch
Weight: 185 pounds
Age: 23 years old
Birthday: September 15, 1999
Hometown: Farrell, Pa.
High school: Solon
And here are three more things to know about Carry.
1. Sincere Carry made a name for himself in Solon High School, starring in 2018 OHSAA state tournament
Originally from the western tip of Pennsylvania, Carry overcame a handful of injuries early in his career at Solon High School to star for the Comets. His senior year, in particular, was one to remember as he averaged 23.3 points, eight assists and seven rebounds. An Ohio Mr. Basketball finalist, he led Solon to a 27-2 record and the OHSAA Division I state championship game.
His performances at Value City Arena were the stuff of legend. That included leading the Comets in points (29), assists (11) and steals (5) in their 82-78 state semifinal win over Pickerington Central. He was efficient all around, making half his field-goal attempts (6 of 12), half his 3-pointers (3 of 6) and the bulk of his free throws (14 of 17). He was no less impressive in the state title game despite Cincinnati Moeller defeating Solon 87-65. Carry led his team with 27 points on an efficient 8-of-15 shooting from the field, 4 of 8 from deep and 7 of 8 from the foul line.
2. Sincere Carry's path included a couple of years at Duquesne University, leading Atlantic 10 in assists
Solon to Kent seems like a pretty straightforward path, with Solon High School a mere 20-mile drive from Kent State's M.A.C. Center.
Except that Carry's collegiate career actually took off at Duquesne.
And it took off immediately, with Carry starting 28 games as a true freshman and leading the Atlantic 10 in assists per game (5.8). He was just the fifth freshman in A-10 history to lead the conference in assists. He also averaged 2.4 steals, second in the Atlantic 10 and first among the nation's freshmen that season.
Carry was stellar in his first two seasons for the Dukes, averaging 12.2 points and a team-leading 5.3 assists as a sophomore, before transferring to Kent State midway through his junior season.
As Carry told the Akron Beacon Journal earlier this year, "I'm still in contact with my teammates and my coaches [from Duquesne], and there's still love there. We support each other. It's just a me thing. I needed a restart.” That was after Carry earned Male Collegiate Athlete of the Year honors at the Greater Cleveland Sports Awards in late January.
3. Sincere Carry is having a really strong senior season for Kent State
A couple of stats that stand out from Carry's redshirt senior season:
One, his free-throw percentage, as Carry is shooting free throws at the highest clip of his collegiate career (80.7%). That's up from 78.5% last season and 71.4% over his two-plus years at Duquesne.
Two, Carry has nearly twice as many assists per game (4.9) as turnovers (2.6) — the lowest turnover rate of his collegiate career.
Oh, and Carry is on a shooting tear, making at least three 3-pointers in six of his last eight games, including 3 of 7 behind the arc in the Mid-American Conference semifinals against Akron and 4 of 9 in the title game against Toledo.
This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Sincere Carry: 3 facts on the Kent State basketball guard
