AceFan
05-01-2007, 01:13 PM
Here is the small town, home town, newspaper account of Coach McKenna's first meeting with Aaron Carter.
Carter sticks with ISU
By LARRY GOFFINET, Sports Editor
Did you know that a former Indiana Pacer pro basketball player recently dined at Marcy’s restaurant in Leopold?
Marcy’s is known for having good food, but that’s not what attracted Kevin McKenna to the place.
He is the new Indiana State University basketball team and he was re-recruiting Perry Central senior Aaron Carter, who signed with ISU last fall but had contemplated asking for his release after Royce Waltman, the coach who recruited him, was fired.
McKenna talked to Carter a couple of times by phone after he was hired and then met Carter’s entire family, including his grandparents, for lunch at Marcy’s one Saturday (the Carters had to pay for their own lunches, though, as under NCAA rules McKenna could not pick up the check for them).
Apparently McKenna made a favorable impression, as Carter has decided to stick with the Sycamores.
The fact that McKenna has kept two ISU assistant coaches who were active in recruiting Carter, Greg Lansing and Stan Gouard, also helped.
McKenna, 48, has been an assistant coach at Creighton University the last nine years, with the Bluejays going to four NCAA tourneys in that span.
Before getting into coaching, he spent six years playing guard in the NBA.
He was a journeyman, playing for four teams and averaging 5.4 points per game.
One of his best seasons was the year he spent with the Pacers, 1983-84, when he averaged 6.3 points and played in a career-high 61 games.
Still the fact that he personally knows what it takes to get to the NBA may help him in future recruiting, as it seems nearly every NCAA Division I player dreams of playing in the NBA.
Carter sticks with ISU
By LARRY GOFFINET, Sports Editor
Did you know that a former Indiana Pacer pro basketball player recently dined at Marcy’s restaurant in Leopold?
Marcy’s is known for having good food, but that’s not what attracted Kevin McKenna to the place.
He is the new Indiana State University basketball team and he was re-recruiting Perry Central senior Aaron Carter, who signed with ISU last fall but had contemplated asking for his release after Royce Waltman, the coach who recruited him, was fired.
McKenna talked to Carter a couple of times by phone after he was hired and then met Carter’s entire family, including his grandparents, for lunch at Marcy’s one Saturday (the Carters had to pay for their own lunches, though, as under NCAA rules McKenna could not pick up the check for them).
Apparently McKenna made a favorable impression, as Carter has decided to stick with the Sycamores.
The fact that McKenna has kept two ISU assistant coaches who were active in recruiting Carter, Greg Lansing and Stan Gouard, also helped.
McKenna, 48, has been an assistant coach at Creighton University the last nine years, with the Bluejays going to four NCAA tourneys in that span.
Before getting into coaching, he spent six years playing guard in the NBA.
He was a journeyman, playing for four teams and averaging 5.4 points per game.
One of his best seasons was the year he spent with the Pacers, 1983-84, when he averaged 6.3 points and played in a career-high 61 games.
Still the fact that he personally knows what it takes to get to the NBA may help him in future recruiting, as it seems nearly every NCAA Division I player dreams of playing in the NBA.