Jovontae Carleton

Unsung. Overlooked. Unacclaimed. Such would describe Jovontae Carleton during his tenure at El Cerrito High. He wasn't the subject of any fawning features nor touted as a talent to watch.

Yet now as a 6-foot-4 freshman at Merritt College, he is averaging a second-on-the-team, no-adjustment-time needed 13.1 points per game while shooting 53% overall, 40% from long distance and 75% at the foul line.

What gives?

"In high school, we had other good players. I was a capable slasher, an athletic guy who could go to the rack and get layups. But I've picked up a lot. I've been in the weight room and can now go to the rack and dunk. Defenders call out "shooter" when I get the ball. I'm definitely one of the go-to guys."

His remarkable transition was also "a mental thing for me. A lot of the kids in high school are not that talented and the intensity is a lot more here. You're playing for that scholarship and you have to come with your best game."

Asked to describe his best skills, Carleton offered, "very athletic, crafty with the ball, good at catch-and-shoot, a lockdown defender who can use his size to play from the point to small forward."

As to why basketball and not, say football, he explained, "it's a family thing. I've been raised around basketball, watching and playing. I started when I was five and began playing competitively in the eighth grade. In high school, I slowly but surely progressed."

Carleton credits his cousins as major hoops influences. ""We always pushed each other and that made us better."

In citing his best basketball moment, he related being torn between playing for Merritt and Diablo Valley College. "I was working out with both" until matters with DVC "hit a sour note" and he decided to go the Thunderbird route. "Then we played DVC and I scored 26 points (on November 22). It was a confidence builder."

He added, "[Merritt College] Coach McMiller explained what I would be doing and what position I would be playing. It was a good fit and things clicked on and off the court."

Being a qualifier, Carleton could depart after this season "but I'm not focused on that. I'll play it by ear. Two years here could get me a lot better." Merritt currently stand 15-3 overall, 5-1 in the Bay Valley Conference.