Kent State's Sincere Carry honored again for prowess in basketball, a game he once gave up

CLEVELAND — Sincere Carry arrived at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse donning sunglasses and dressed for the red carpet.

The Kent State University point guard left the Greater Cleveland Sports Awards with even more star power because he was named Male Collegiate Athlete of the Year on Wednesday night.

The honor served as a de facto encore to Carry becoming the Mid-American Conference Player of the Year last season. He averaged 17.9 points, 4.8 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game, earned All-MAC Defensive Team recognition and placed himself on the NBA's radar.

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“I never imagined myself opening up these types of doors,” Carry told the Beacon Journal during the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission's 23rd awards show.

It's quite a feat, especially for someone who readily admits this: “I gave up on basketball.”

A Solon High School graduate, Carry began his collegiate basketball career at Duquesne University, where he played for former longtime University of Akron coach Keith Dambrot. But Carry transferred to KSU during his third season at Duquesne and actually quit the sport.

“I wasn't having fun with it at the time,” Carry said. “I wasn't happy, and mentally I wasn't where I wanted to be. So I took a few months off, but I was missing it instantly.

“I can't blame a coach or a player or anything. I'm still in contact with my teammates and my coaches [from Duquesne], and there's still love there. We support each other. It's just a me thing. I needed a restart.”

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Carry has discovered a renewed passion at Kent State.

“Being close to home and their family tradition, it helps a lot,” he said.

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Kent State has a record of 16-4, including 6-1 in the MAC, this season, Carry's second with the Golden Flashes. KSU is also 9-0 at home, where it will encounter the University at Buffalo (10-10, 4-3) at 9 p.m. Friday.

“He's an unbelievable competitor, and he's an everyday player,” KSU coach Rob Senderoff said. “He competes every single possession. He's team first. He's as good a defensive player, if not better, than he is an offensive player.”

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KSU, though, needed Carry to ascend as a leader, and Senderoff has witnessed progress.

“He's a leader every day in terms of how hard he practices, every game in how hard he plays,” Senderoff said. “He sacrifices his body. He doesn't take plays off. He's an ultimate competitor.”

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Last season, the Golden Flashes crumbled at the finish line of the MAC Tournament, falling 75-55 to rival Akron in the championship game. In the buildup to the showdown, some Kent State players used vulgar language and obscene gestures while talking trash about their UA counterparts in a social media video. As a result, the MAC suspended four KSU players — DJ Johnson indefinitely and Malique Jacobs, Cli'Ron Hornbeak and Julius Rollins for the first half of the title game.

“You hope that every experience teaches you something and that we're a better team and program from having to go through that experience as a group,” Senderoff said. “Certainly it wasn't the way we wanted our year to end, and it was a disappointing end to what was a great season. We've started this year, for the most part, as if we've learned from that.”

Carry and Jacobs didn't start a game against Toledo last season after they were involved in a what became a tense exchange of words with Akron fans at the end of a 66-64 win over the Zips on Feb. 11.

“You can't just point the finger at anybody,” Carry said. “We all just had to take it on the chin and take the punishments that we received. We're definitely not going to have that happen this year.”

Jacobs, who accompanied Carry to the awards show in downtown Cleveland, said the Golden Flashes have what it takes to win the MAC Tournament this season, but “only if we stay humble.”

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Kent State point guard Sincere Carry is confident he's positioned well for a future run at the NBA

Despite KSU's unmet expectations in 2022, Carry becoming just the fourth MAC Player of the Year in program history created opportunities for him in the offseason. He declared for the NBA Draft but didn't hire an agent, allowing him to withdraw his name and return to KSU.

During the pre-draft process, Carry worked out for the Cavaliers and Detroit Pistons.

“I just learned a lot of different NBA terms that they use,” he said. “[As a point guard], I'll have to be the one communicating, being the leader. Just getting my foot into the door, seeing how those workouts are and just getting a feel for the interviews and what they want to see and what to work on in the offseason, it was just good just to get the experience, so this upcoming offseason, I could already be comfortable in those situations.”

A redshirt senior, the 6-foot-1 Carry said this will be his final season with KSU basketball. He explained interacting with professional scouts and realizing he had reached the doorstep of the NBA compelled him to work even harder in preparation for this season.

“Once I'm ready to make that leap,” Carry said, “I feel like I'll have a chance.”

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This season, Carry is averaging 17 points, 4.9 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game. With 1,698 career points, he's third on KSU's all-time scoring list.

“Given the right opportunity, I do think [the NBA can be in his future],” Senderoff said. “I think he can help. He impacts winning.

“I think he's going to have a long playing career, and I think and hope that he gets an opportunity in the NBA.”

Although KSU lost its most recent outing, a 86-76 road defeat to Northern Illinois on Tuesday night, Senderoff pointed out the Golden Flashes have won 30 of their past 36 games dating to last season with Carry as their “focal point.” Senderoff added, “It says a lot about him that he's running a team that has that type of record.”

Jacobs emphasized Carry provides KSU with “energy” first and foremost.

“He's means a lot to the program, to the team, to everybody,” said Jacobs, a redshirt senior guard. “He's a big part.”

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The Golden Flashes hope the face of their team drives them to a MAC championship and the NCAA tournament.

“We're getting a lot of attention right now, but we still haven't reached our peak or played our best basketball for a full game,” Carry said. “[Against Northern Illinois], we just didn't defend the ball well. But I feel like we needed a game like that. We needed to be humbled, get that hunger back in us, so I feel like we're going to make a turning point this upcoming week.

“We're all sacrificing a lot out there on the court. We're not being selfish trying to get these big numbers. We're just making the extra pass and playing together, and we all understand that we've got to play our best basketball in March.”

Lesson learned. Carry has piled up impressive individual accolades, yet achieving team success when it matters most remains unfinished business.

Winners at the 2023 Greater Cleveland Sports Awards

Male High School Athlete of the Year: Tyler Lencewicz, Shaker Heights High School, hockey

Female High School Athlete of the Year: Katie Clute, Olmsted Falls High School, cross country and track and field

Male Collegiate Athlete of the Year: Sincere Carry, Kent State University, basketball

Female Collegiate Athlete of the Year: Case Western Reserve University women's soccer team

Professional Athlete of the Year: Jose Ramirez, Guardians, third baseman

Courage Award: Maya Austerman, Avon Lake High School, basketball

Sports Development Award: Downtown Cleveland Alliance

5-Star Senior Athlete Award: Luise Easton, multisport athlete

Lifetime Achievement Award: Ted Ginn Sr., Glenville High School football coach

Best Moment in Cleveland Sports: Guardians 2022 American League Central Division championship season

Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com.

On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Kent State basketball's Sincere Carry wins another big award