Traci Carter is off the board to Marquette.
The 6-foot point guard from Burlington (N.J.) Life Center committed to the Golden Eagles on Tuesday following an official visit to the school this past weekend.
Carter also considered Xavier, La Salle, UConn and Memphis. He visited Xavier a week ago, and had set tentative visits for UConn and Memphis later in March.
“The thing that separated Marquette from all the other Universities was that Traci was recruited directly by Coach Wojo [ Steve Wojciechowski] and got a chance to establish a rapport with him,” Donnie Carr, Carter’s guardian, told SNY.tv on Tuesday.
“The opportunity that Traci will have to make an immediate impact and run the show from day one [was also important] And Marquette’s recruiting class for 2015 is one of the best in the country.”
Carter joins a recruiting class already ranked No. 7 nationally by Rivals.com that includes power forward Henry Ellenson, shooting guard Haanif Cheatham, shooting guard Sacar Anim and center Matt Heldt.
Carr likes how head Wojciechowski will use Carter, who plays alongside uncommitted wing Malik Ellison, son of head coach and former No. 1 NBA Draft pick Pervis Ellison.
“Because of Marquette’s need for a true point guard, Traci would be given a chance to lead the program from day one,” Carr said. “In addition to that, he would be learning from a coach who played his position in college at Duke and coached under arguably one of the top three coaches in college basketball history for the last two decades. Also, Marquette has a staff full of former college point guards who all played in major conferences.”
Carter recently became academically qualified following a strong winter in which he excelled at several high-profile events — including the HoopHall Classic and the Big Apple Basketball Invitational.
Ellison recently said Carter could play “on any level.”
“He has the ability to score the basketball, he can run your ballclub,” Ellison told SNY.tv in January. “That’s the aspect of the game we’re working on with him, to get all his teammates involved.
“He’s a tremendous talent, so he’s got a very bright future in front of him.”
