Carter and Prince Voted Members of ACU’s Lone Star Conference Era Starting 5
2/14/2013 4:22:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Women's Basketball
ABILENE – Melanie Carter and Andrew Prince – two of the most decorated scorers to ever play Abilene Christian basketball – have been voted by Wildcat fans onto the ACU Lone Star Conference Era Starting 5 women's and men's teams as centers.
A native of Lubbock, Carter finished her four-year career in 2004 as the third-leading scorer in both ACU and LSC history with 1,962 points, while Prince – a 6-7 native of Victoria – left in 1975 as the Wildcats' career leader in points with 1,624. Prince also graduated as the school's season record holder for most points (642) and rebounds (445).
More than 2,100 votes were cast during two months of polling, which took place both online and in-person at Moody Coliseum from Nov. 29 to Jan. 29. The ballots featured only those student-athletes who played for the Wildcats during their time in the Lone Star Conference (1973-2013).
The ACU men's basketball team began competing within the league under head coach Willard Tate in 1973-74, while the women came aboard in 1982-83 under the direction of Burl McCoy.
The four Starting 5 guards will be announced on Feb. 20, while the forwards will be revealed on Feb. 27. ACU administrators have also decided to select a Sixth Man for each team since some of the votes were incredibly close. The top male and female vote getter will additionally be crowned Most Outstanding Player.
The Starting 5 teams will be formally introduced during ACU's doubleheader vs. Texas A&M-Kingsville on Saturday, March 2. Games take place at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m.
The poll was conducted in celebration of ACU's 40th and final year as a member of the Lone Star Conference. The Wildcats' move to NCAA Division I and the Southland Conference takes effect on July 1.
Melanie Carter
A three-time WBCA/Kodak honorable mention all-America, Carter was ACU's leading scorer in each of her four years and still holds the school and conference career record for best field-goal percentage (63.9, 715-1120) and their single-game record for most consecutive field goals made with 14 vs. St. Edward's.
Carter finished with 32 points vs. the Hilltoppers, but her best single-game effort came two years later as she poured in 37 points on 16-of-23 shooting against Texas Woman's.
A four-time first team NCAA all-South Central Region player, Carter set the NCAA D-II record for field goal percentage by a sophomore (67.9), and her 68 percent shooting performance as a freshman in 2000-01 is the second-best performance by a freshman in D-II history. Carter also recorded 949 career rebounds, which is good for sixth-place on the all-time ACU list.
Carter holds the proud distinction of being one of only three Wildcats – male or female – to be named first team all-conference four times along with Claudia Schleyer and Jennifer Clarkson. Her list of career honors also includes three academic all-conference and district citations, a LSC MVP trophy in 2001-02, and a spot on the 2004 all-LSC Tournament team.
Andrew Prince
Prince was a three-year letterman for the Wildcats from 1972-75 who twice earned NAIA all-America status while averaging 19.8 points and 12.2 rebounds per game. He also received all-conference and NAIA all-district honors in back-to-back seasons (1973-74, 1974-75), served as team captain, and made the LSC all-tournament team after leading his squad to a 16-12 record and the West Division title.
One of his Prince's biggest achievements, however, was being featured in the “Faces of the Crowd” section of Sports Illustrated magazine in the April 28, 1975 issue. Prince was cited by the SI editors for his ACU career scoring record and an even 1,000 career rebounds.
Prince began his ACU career as the top scorer (23.0) and rebounder (10.7) for the 1971-72 freshman team. He then played his sophomore year for head coach Garnie Hatch in 1972-73 followed by two seasons with Willard Tate (1973-75).
Prince returned to ACU as an assistant coach for Mike Martin from 1983 to 1988 after playing professional basketball in Europe for eight seasons. He helped coach the Wildcats to three straight Lone Star Conference championships in 1985, 1986 and 1987, including a 44-game home court winning streak in Moody Coliseum.
Lone Star Conference Era Start 5: Position Announcement Dates
Centers: February 14 (Melanie Carter, Andrew Prince)
Guards: February 20
Forwards: February 27
Sixth Man: March 1
A native of Lubbock, Carter finished her four-year career in 2004 as the third-leading scorer in both ACU and LSC history with 1,962 points, while Prince – a 6-7 native of Victoria – left in 1975 as the Wildcats' career leader in points with 1,624. Prince also graduated as the school's season record holder for most points (642) and rebounds (445).
More than 2,100 votes were cast during two months of polling, which took place both online and in-person at Moody Coliseum from Nov. 29 to Jan. 29. The ballots featured only those student-athletes who played for the Wildcats during their time in the Lone Star Conference (1973-2013).
The ACU men's basketball team began competing within the league under head coach Willard Tate in 1973-74, while the women came aboard in 1982-83 under the direction of Burl McCoy.
The four Starting 5 guards will be announced on Feb. 20, while the forwards will be revealed on Feb. 27. ACU administrators have also decided to select a Sixth Man for each team since some of the votes were incredibly close. The top male and female vote getter will additionally be crowned Most Outstanding Player.
The Starting 5 teams will be formally introduced during ACU's doubleheader vs. Texas A&M-Kingsville on Saturday, March 2. Games take place at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m.
The poll was conducted in celebration of ACU's 40th and final year as a member of the Lone Star Conference. The Wildcats' move to NCAA Division I and the Southland Conference takes effect on July 1.
Melanie Carter
A three-time WBCA/Kodak honorable mention all-America, Carter was ACU's leading scorer in each of her four years and still holds the school and conference career record for best field-goal percentage (63.9, 715-1120) and their single-game record for most consecutive field goals made with 14 vs. St. Edward's.
Carter finished with 32 points vs. the Hilltoppers, but her best single-game effort came two years later as she poured in 37 points on 16-of-23 shooting against Texas Woman's.
A four-time first team NCAA all-South Central Region player, Carter set the NCAA D-II record for field goal percentage by a sophomore (67.9), and her 68 percent shooting performance as a freshman in 2000-01 is the second-best performance by a freshman in D-II history. Carter also recorded 949 career rebounds, which is good for sixth-place on the all-time ACU list.
Carter holds the proud distinction of being one of only three Wildcats – male or female – to be named first team all-conference four times along with Claudia Schleyer and Jennifer Clarkson. Her list of career honors also includes three academic all-conference and district citations, a LSC MVP trophy in 2001-02, and a spot on the 2004 all-LSC Tournament team.
Andrew Prince
Prince was a three-year letterman for the Wildcats from 1972-75 who twice earned NAIA all-America status while averaging 19.8 points and 12.2 rebounds per game. He also received all-conference and NAIA all-district honors in back-to-back seasons (1973-74, 1974-75), served as team captain, and made the LSC all-tournament team after leading his squad to a 16-12 record and the West Division title.
One of his Prince's biggest achievements, however, was being featured in the “Faces of the Crowd” section of Sports Illustrated magazine in the April 28, 1975 issue. Prince was cited by the SI editors for his ACU career scoring record and an even 1,000 career rebounds.
Prince began his ACU career as the top scorer (23.0) and rebounder (10.7) for the 1971-72 freshman team. He then played his sophomore year for head coach Garnie Hatch in 1972-73 followed by two seasons with Willard Tate (1973-75).
Prince returned to ACU as an assistant coach for Mike Martin from 1983 to 1988 after playing professional basketball in Europe for eight seasons. He helped coach the Wildcats to three straight Lone Star Conference championships in 1985, 1986 and 1987, including a 44-game home court winning streak in Moody Coliseum.
Lone Star Conference Era Start 5: Position Announcement Dates
Centers: February 14 (Melanie Carter, Andrew Prince)
Guards: February 20
Forwards: February 27
Sixth Man: March 1
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