Missouri Tigers: Add Experienced Coach, Rick Carter to Basketball Staff

The Missouri Tigers will not only start the 2012 – 2013 season with a non conference, but they will also start with a new face on their coaching staff. Rick Carter may be new to the Tigers Hoops staff, but he is not a newcomer to the world of college basketball.

Carter comes to the Tigers from Western Michigan University. He spent the last four seasons in Michigan, and had great relations with many Michigan High School and AAU coaches. Carter is a 2002 graduate of Michigan State, he then got on staff with Coach Tom Izzo as a graduate assistant. He was with the Spartans from 2003-2006, and did many tasks such as scouting operations, practice planning and academic support. When the Spartans went to the Final Four in 2005, Carter was on staff.

Head Coach Frank Haith had this to say about his new hiring: “I am excited to welcome Coach Carter into our basketball family, Rick is a talented coach and a relentless recruiter. He has a great basketball background working for Steve Hawkins at Western Michigan, Ed Cooley at Fairfield and of course Tom Izzo at Michigan State and he has connections to a couple members of our staff, so I really liked the instant fit.”

When asked about his addition onto Coach Haith’s staff, Coach Carter had these statements to say: “I’m so excited to join Coach Haith’s program here at Missouri, the history and tradition at Mizzou makes this one of the best jobs in America and of course I know all about the great players from the state of Michigan that had standout careers as Tigers, including Doug Smith, whose number is retired here. I want to thank Coach Haith and the administration for this opportunity and I want to thank everyone atWestern Michigan for the four great years in Kalamazoo.”

Carter began his coaching career back in 2000, as the head coach of the Michigan Mustangs. The team was a AAU power, which helped bring such players as David Kool and Michael Redell to Western Michigan. While Carter was at Western Michigan, the Broncos won two MAC West titles, and are coming off a 21-13 season a year ago.

This appears to be a great lift for the Tigers. Sure, most assistants will have good looking resumes’, but Carter appears to be one of the up and coming talented coaches across the country. Coach Frank Haith does a great job as the head man in Columbia, and now has yet another talented assistant to sit on his bench with him.