Carter named Hounds basketball coach for 2014-15

Eastern New Mexico University Athletic Director Jeff Geiser said Friday associate men’s basketball coach Stott Carter was named interim head coach, filling the vacancy left when Andrew Helton resigned earlier this week.

Carter has been with Helton at ENMU for the past five seasons, helping the Greyhounds post a 63-72 record and reach the Lone Star Conference tournament four times.

Geiser said that because of the timing of the change, the school decided to make the move now with Carter.

“We had approval from (ENMU) president (Steven) Gamble over what we call an ‘emergency’ hire,” Geiser said. “Because of the lateness of the year and the impact on recruiting, we dcided to do this.

“He’ll be the head coach this year and we’ll assess it at the end of (the 2014-15 season).”

Prior to coming to Portales, Carter had a wide range of experience, starting as a graduate assistant under Billy Donovan at the University of Florida He also served on the staff with Helton at Division I Texas A&M-Corpus Christi for two seasons before serving as an assistant coach at Pfeiffer University.

He also has junior college coaching experience at Kilgore (Texas) College and Central Florida Community College.

“Coach Carter is a great fit for Eastern New Mexico University,” Geiser said. “He has an outstanding basketball pedigree and is an excellent recruiter. Current Hound players describe him as a ‘players coach’ who has their best interest at heart. We look forward to working with coach Carter as he works to take the Greyhounds to the upper echelons of the Lone Star Conference.”