Malcolm in the middle

Waimea JV point guard works the court

by Lanaly Cabalo – THE GARDEN ISLAND

Like many young basketball players, Malcolm Carter grew up idolizing Michael Jordan.

“I used to lower my hoop and dunk on the rim,” said the 15-year-old Waimea High School junior varsity point guard.

Carter would watch Jordan on TV and try to mimic his moves — from his spins to his layups. It seems as though, now, all that practice seems to be paying off for the sophomore as he has emerged as the teams leading scorer.

He’s scored in the double-digit range in at least the last five games. “In the beginning (of the season), we made a lot of mistakes,” Carter said. “But we’ve watched our films and corrected our mistakes. I wanted to concentrate and help my teammates. I was practicing my layups. I wasn’t making them before.”

On Jan. 19, Carter sunk five 3-pointers finishing with a then-season-high 26 points to lead the Menehune over the Warriors of Kapa‘a High School, 51-41. He followed that up with 14 points in Waimea’s loss to Kauai High School. Then, in a rematch against Kapa‘a, Carter put up 32 points in Waimea’s 46-40 overtime win for a new season-high. It’s his favorite memory of the season so far. “Our whole team had an adrenaline rush and I wasn’t tired,” he said.

That’s his explanation for scoring so many points, but rest assured Carter has not been accused of being a ballhog. “I think it’s a good stat to have,” said junior varsity coach Kawika Smith. “He still shares the ball a lot and he just takes the shots he needs to take.” Smith sometimes interchanges Carter from the point guard to the shooting guard and said that he’s definitely seen improvement in Carter’s judgment on the court. “He definitely sees the court a lot better,” Smith said. “Before, he used to push up the court, but we kind of had to show him how to see the court and let the defense settle a little bit before going up.”

With his remarkable recent performances, Carter has been moved up to practice and possibly play at the varsity level. “Coach (Neil Pigao) asked me if I wanted to play and I just felt excited because a lot more people show up to watch the varsity team play,” Carter said.

This means that Carter has to work double-duty — still practice with his junior varsity team, then practice more with the varsity team. “It’s kind of hard but it’s worth it because I want to try my skills at the varsity level,” Carter said. In this final week of Kauai Interscholastic Federation basketball season play, Carter will dress out for both teams. “I’m probably going to be tired, but I’m probably going to be more warmed up than anybody else,” he said.

Smith describes Carter as a “good kid” who’s “pretty outgoing” and a good student. Carter started playing around with a basketball when he was only 3 years old. Being in a military family, he moved around quite a bit before coming to Kaua‘i several years ago. Basketball, he said, comes naturally to him and it relieves some of his stress from school. He tries to play every day at the Waimea Canyon Park.

Carter’s hard work is going toward his goal of having a bright future in sports. He played football in the fall and also has plans to run track in the spring. His main sport, though, will remain basketball. “I want to go to college and play basketball,” he said.

It’s so far so good for the honor roll student. Waimea will host Kaua‘i starting at 5:30 p.m. tomorrow night at the Clem Gomes Gym. Then the Menehune will play its last game of the season starting at 5:30 p.m. Saturday against the Warriors in Kapa‘a.

Malcolm Carter

Age: 15

Hometown: Watertown, New York; Waimea

Parents: Fa’alelei Matagiese

Position: Point guard, shooting guard

Hobbies other than basketball: “ I like to go bodyboarding, sometimes at the Waimea river mouth or in Kekaha.”

Hidden talent: “ I didn’t think I could play the ‘ukulele, but now I’m pretty good and I’m taking lessons.”

Favorite song to play:

“True Love,” by S.O.J.A