David Carter, assistant basketball coach at St. Mary’s College, has been named assistant coach at the University of Georgia according to an announcement Wednesday by UGA head coach Mark Fox.
When Fox was head coach at Nevada, Carter was his associate head coach for five seasons. Carter was promoted to the Wolf Pack’s head coach when Fox left for Georgia in 2009.
“I am very excited to have David joining our coaching staff,” said Fox. “He assisted me at the University of Nevada and I aggressively pursued him when this opportunity opened. He is a proven winner, a great teacher, a proven evaluator and recruiter and the type of man I want in our program. We have always had a great chemistry and my staff and I welcome his expertise.”
One of the most recognizable players in Saint Mary’s men’s basketball history, Carter just completed the second season at his alma mater. He has been involved in all aspects of the Gaels’ program, including recruiting, practice and game preparation and player development.
A native of Los Angeles, Carter spent a total of 16 seasons coaching at Nevada including his last six as head coach where he compiled a 98-97 record and a pair of postseason appearances. His win total ranks sixth in program history and he is just the second Nevada coach to post a pair of 20-win seasons.
“David won two state championships in high school (Crenshaw, Los Angeles), a championship in college (St Mary’s), and another as a head coach after succeeding me at Nevada,” added Fox. “He will make an immediate impact on our team and is exactly what I feel our perimeter players need at this time. Obviously, he’ll also broaden our recruiting base with his contacts. He was a key part in our signing of Ramon Sessions (South Carolina), JaVale McGee (Chicago), and Kirk Snyder (Los Angeles) – all who played in the NBA.
In 2012 he led Nevada to a 28-7 record, the Western Athletic Conference title and was named the Don Haskins WAC Coach of the Year. The team’s win total that season was the second-highest in program history and tied a school record with a 16-game win streak.
Prior to being named head coach in 2009, he was the program’s associate head coach under Fox for five seasons after spending the previous five years as an assistant for head coach Trent Johnson.
A 1989 Saint Mary’s graduate, Carter played three seasons for the Gaels under Lynn Nance (and one under Bill Oates). He helped the team advance to the 1989 NCAA Tournament and No. 17 final national ranking with a 25-5 record. A four-year starter and team captain, Carter set a program record for career assists and was inducted into the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2006.
After graduation, he served as a graduate assistant at Washington and an assistant coach at Diablo Valley College and Eastern Washington before returning to SMC as an assistant coach for the 1998 and 1999 seasons. In three years at DVC, Carter helped the team to its first national Final Eight postseason appearance.
Carter played high school basketball at Crenshaw High School in Los Angeles, one of the most prominent programs in the country. In three years at Crenshaw, his teams lost only five games and won state championships in 1983 and 1985.