By Kim Ly
Standing at six-foot-eight, sophomore Carter Bryant is quite hard to miss. Standing at six-foot-eight, Bryant also doesn’t miss that often in basketball.
Bryant is a small forward and shooting guard on the Fountain Valley High School (FVHS) varsity boys’ basketball team. While this is his second year on the team, this is his first season after a broken tibia bone stopped him from playing during his freshman year.
“It’s nice to be around the guys, especially after last year. I was injured and there was COVID so you didn’t really interact with people,” Bryant said. “So, yeah—it’s nice—I always felt very welcome from day one—from the seniors, juniors, everybody on the team. I appreciate all the guys—they all supported me when I got hurt.”
On the court, Bryant is a jack-of-all-trades who brings a variety of skills to his team. He has shown to be a reliable player both offensively and defensively. In the recent season, the small forward and shooting guard has been successful in three-pointers, layups, blocking and passing and has even dunked in FVHS’s recent game against Edison.
As expected, his skills didn’t appear out of thin air. Bryant has been surrounded by basketball ever since he was a child.
His family legacy consists of multiple Division I and elite players, thus introducing him to the world of basketball. Despite his involvement in the sport for so many years, his passion and love for it remain unwavering. If anything, growing up with basketball has only made him love it even more.
“My favorite thing about playing basketball and [it] in general is probably just—the way you can express yourself when you play the game, whether it’s the way you play, [or] the things you wear on the court,” Bryant said. “It’s hard to explain because I’ve just always been around it and it’s like—it’s not like a hobby. It’s just a passion for me so it’s just something I’ve always wanted to be the greatest at so I just drive myself to be better.”
Bryant spends hours every day training both mentally and physically. Typically, he wakes up at 5 a.m. to exercise and walk his dog before getting ready for his one-hour ride to school. After school, he attends practice before returning home only to do another two-hour workout. Whether it’s lifting weights or playing even more basketball, Bryant will put his 100% into it.
Mentally, he trains his mind before games by not looking at his phone or social media.
“It’s just to get me in the right mindset of the game not to be looking at social media and things like that because all you need is one thing to catch your eye and you look up and you have five to ten minutes before you play and you’re not ready to play,” Bryant said.
His dedication to everything he does is inspired by his mom, dad and sisters.
“My biggest inspirations are probably my mom and my sisters as well as my dad just because I see all the things they do every day. My sisters actually didn’t start playing sports until two years ago and they’re like very high-level athletes,” Bryant said. “… [And] my mom and my dad invested so much time into me as a basketball player. So I’m really grateful for that and that’s what inspires me to keep going day after day.”
His hard work has been paying off in how he’s considered a top prospect in Southern California for the class of 2024. He’s been recognized as one out of eight finalists in the western region for Stephen Curry’s Underrated Tour, has received four official offers from San Diego State University, California State University, San Luis Obispo, University of Southern California and California State University, Long Beach and is in talks with a variety of other schools such as Stanford University, University of California, Los Angeles, Arizona State University and many more.
Despite his many accomplishments at the young age of 16, Bryant remains humble and continues to work hard towards his future. In regards to goals, Bryant is aiming to finish off the season strong with his team whilst focusing on his future as well.
“I actually do [have some future goals in mind]. I don’t know if it’s called a dream-board or a goal-board but I do have one of those,” Bryant said. “[Some goals] for the year is probably just to win CIF … We got off to a rough start but we’re definitely going to pick it up. I don’t think people are going to expect us to finish the way we finish. [For personal goals,] probably to pick up a couple more offers before going into the summer. And just to push myself to get better every day.”
For those looking into starting basketball or starting any hobby in general, Bryant believes that the key to being successful is working hard and keeping an eye on your goal.
“Believe in yourself … If you’re not willing to put in the time and effort or if you don’t love it or have a passion for it—don’t do it,” Bryant said. “If you want to get started—push your all into it. Don’t go halfway. It’s like going to class and not paying attention and just being okay with getting a D or an F … No matter how tough it gets, how mentally tired you are—how physically tired—you just have to know if you keep going and pushing towards what you want to be or what your angle is—it’s going to work.”
Just like his height and basketball skills, Bryant’s work ethic, humility and friendliness come in great numbers.
