Recruiting Report: DJ Carton (2019)
When we called Bettendorf point guard DJ Carton last Thursday night, he had just gotten off the phone with Marquette, and had taken an unofficial visit to Missouri earlier that day.
Such is the life right now for one of the nation’s hottest prospects.
Carton is a 6-foot-1 guard who went into his 16U season with zero offers, and finished it with 11 offers. That list: North Dakota, IUPUI, Wisconsin, Northern Iowa, Marquette, Nebraska, Iowa, Creighton, Minnesota, Missouri, Kansas State.
He’s sizzling, and is certainly enjoying the process.
“I’ve been on couple visits the last couple weeks, just trying to figure out what best fits me. So the process has been fun. Meeting all these new coaches and seeing their eyes on the game and what they think has been really fun, just creating relationships with all these guys,” said Carton.
In the past two weeks, the Quad City Elite product has been on visits to Wisconsin, Missouri and Iowa. He gave a synopsis of all three.
IOWA
“I went to Iowa and got to talk to Coach (Fran) McCaffery a lot. I watched one of their practices and watched the way they played as they prepared to head over to Europe. It was really nice getting to meet some of the players and coaches and see their aspects on the game.”
WISCONSIN
“Later I went down to Wisconsin, and I was on a visit there last year too, so I’ve been down there already. But this summer I talked to some of the advisers, and they have some really nice people there. I got to eat with some of the players down by the lake. And I got to bond with the players and coaching staff and had a really good time there.”
MISSOURI
“At Missouri, I got to talk to their coaches, and I went all around the campus and saw the dorms and things like that. I saw a workout with Jontay Porter and things like that. I ate lunch with the coach and he’s a good guy with a good personality and things like that.”
“It was good meeting all these coaches and talking about the game and seeing how I would fit on their system,” said Carton.
With still two high school seasons and a 17U season to showcase himself, and with seemingly no plans to commit anytime soon, Carton’s recruitment may be just starting to take-off.
But he says there’s no dream school. No single offer he’s desperately hoping for.
“I don’t really have any schools that pop out that if they were to offer would be at the top of my list, or anything like that,” said Carton. “I’m not going to rush anything, just going to keep playing my ball.
He added: “Growing up, I watched all these programs and I think so highly of all of them, it’s going to be very tough to make a decision.”
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If there’s one thing that DJ Carton credits all of his recent success to, it’s confidence.
And it’s that confidence which helped catapult his game to another level, resulting in 11 Division I offers.
“Since the spring, I feel like I stepped up offensively and defensively. I just feel like I took it to the next level offensively, and that I scored much more efficiently. I feel like my jump-shot was much better in the summer, and my confidence just boosted. I felt like the aggressor every game and was just attacking more and more,” said Carton.
“I got more confident as the summer went on, and I felt like I was playing my best game. I felt like I gained confidence and just played my game and things worked out.”
With Quad City Elite this past spring and summer, Carton’s name got around, and very quickly.
He admitted that until recently, he couldn’t have predicted this degree of success for himself.
But at the same time, Carton’s newfound success has only allowed him to gain more confidence, and next summer could be another big one.
“I played well this spring and summer for AAU, but I also feel I have a lot more left in the bag and I feel like I have a lot more to show to coaches and things like that,” said Carton, Iowa’s 2nd-ranked 2019.
“Last year, I wouldn’t have expected it to happen, but in the spring I started talking to colleges and they liked the way I played my game. And I knew I wasn’t really playing my best game, so I knew then that I had more gears I could take it up to.”
He added: “Then, I became more confident and playing my game, and then those first offers came in, and another came, and they just built on each other.”
Now, with his whirlwind of a summer over with, Carton can focus on his junior season with the Bulldogs. And getting his team back to the state tournament for the second straight season.
“I’m going to have a to play a much bigger role in scoring, and be more aggressive on the offensive end. And this summer, I think I averaged about 25 (points per game), so I’ll have to bring that game to the table,” said Carton.
“At the end of the day, if we get a win, I’m happy. So I’m going to bring my leadership skills and just push my team and things like that to help us get wins, that’s the big part.”