Recordpub.com - Flashes land prized basketball recruit

By David Carducci

Record-Courier staff writer

Kent State men’s basketball landed the perimeter scorer it had to have in its 2010 recruiting class Monday when Carlton Guyton from junior-college powerhouse Mineral Area committed to play for the Golden Flashes.

With wings Chris Singletary, Tyree Evans and Mike McKee set to graduate after the 2009-10 season, the Flashes targeted the 6-foot-4 Guyton as a shooter who could immediately step into a key role at any of three positions — point guard, two-guard or the three — in 2010-11.

“That opportunity played a big part in my decision,” Guyton said Wednesday night, just a few hours after verbally committing to Kent State. “Also the coaching staff and everyone else on campus who I met during my visit, they all really embraced me. I got that vibe that I could come right in, play and be a part of something special.”

According to several sources, KSU’s coaches recognized something special in Guyton during a summer recruiting trip to an AAU showcase Indiana.

“(KSU assistant coach) Armon Gates was at the showcase, and he saw Carlton go on an 18-0 run all by himself in one game,” said Larnell Pillow, who is the coach of Guyton’s Illinois Ice AAU team. “He had 11 points at the half and finished with 44 for the game. And that’s with an 18-minute running clock.

“Kent State is getting a very smart, very skilled player. He is 6-foot-3 and he has a 6-7 wingspan. He is just unbelievable with the ball. As a freshman in junior college, nobody could stay in front of him. This year he is an easy 20-point-a-game kid.”

Guyton averaged just under six points per game last year at Mineral Area. He promises to play a bigger role this year after the Cardinals lost several key players to graduation, including DePaul recruit Mike Stovall.

Last year, Mineral Area finished 19-12 overall but won 8-of-10 down the stretch after Guyton was inserted into the starting lineup.

In high school, Guyton averaged 17.1 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists while shooting 75-percent from the free-throw line in his senior year at Chicago’s Rich South, earning SICA South All-Conference honors.

“This summer he had looks from Drake, Illinois State, Cal Northridge, North Carolina Greensboro and Eastern Illinois,” said Pillow. “But Armon Gates and Geno Ford did a heck of a job recruiting him. Kent State targeted their man and put the full-court press on him. They didn’t scatter their shots around and we loved the attention they showed us.”

Guyton passed on an offer from Drake and canceled a visit to Illinois State when he committed to the Golden Flashes. He had more reasons to choose Kent State than just a recruiting pitch and the chance to play immediately.

“My mom really liked Kent State,” said Guyton. “I have a great family life. My family really cares for me and they are there for me to stand behind every decision I make. My father is a preacher, and that has instilled some good things in me.”

Guyton’s mother also gave him the nickname he will bring to Kent State: “Scootie.”

“She started calling me ‘Scootie’ when I was a baby,” he said. “She said she used to put me down in the basket in one spot and she’d watch me scoot over to another spot. That’s how she gave me the nickname, and it stuck.”