Oregon State Signs North Carolina Prep

The Beavers had one open scholarship remaining.

Salem-News.com SPORTS

CORVALLIS, Ore. - Oregon State men’s basketball head coach Jay John announced the signing of Sean Carter, a 6-foot-9, 225-pound forward/center from Fayetteville, N.C., to a financial aid agreement on Monday.

The Beavers had one open scholarship remaining and John found the player he wanted.

Carter attended his senior year at Laurinburg (N.C.) Prep, where he averaged approximately 12 points and six rebounds this past season. He previously attended 71st High School in Fayetteville, N.C.

"Sean is a fantastic athlete," John said. "Laurinburg has traditionally been one of the top prep schools in the country and has been around for a long time, so we know he’s coming from a quality background. We really haven’t had a player of this athletic caliber that’s been this big. Offensively, he’s definitely an around-the-basket scorer. He’ll really make his impact with defense, rebounding and challenging shots. He jumps like he’s on a pogo stick."

John was weighing whether or not to save the scholarship for the next recruiting class, as Marcel Jones will be the Beavers’ only senior in 2007-08, but he decided the addition of Carter was too good to pass up.

"We decided Sean was better than a lot of the guys we were recruiting in the class of 2008," John said. "There’s not necessarily a lot of size in the 2008 class. We could get a post player right now that will be as good as or better than the guys we were going to be looking at, so it made perfect sense to add Sean."

"Sean is a great athlete for his size, with great feet," Laurinburg Coach Marc Hsu said. "He’s long and athletic. He has a pretty good feel for the game. Sean has an unbelievable amount of upside and potential. It’s just a matter of him tapping into it. From here on, it’s up to him how good he wants to be, and he understands that. He’s a great kid and a good student. He could be really, really special."

The new-look Beavers will have a dramatically different roster this fall.

In addition to C.J. Giles, a 6-foot-11 transfer from Kansas, OSU also signed 6-foot-5 shooting guard Michael Stovall (Chicago, Ill./Marshall HS) and 6-foot-2 point guard Rickey Claitt (Orlando, Fla./Edgewater HS/Mineral Area College) earlier this spring and 6-foot-2 guard Calvin Haynes (Reseda, Calif./Taft HS/South Kent School [Conn.]) and 6-foot-7 forward Omari Johnson (Los Angeles, Calif./Dorsey HS) last fall.

As reported earlier, another signing, forward/center Ilija Milutinovic (Belgrade, Serbia/Worcester Academy [Mass.]) did not qualify.

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