News Summary

South High School's emergence as a state boys basketball power is linked directly to John Carson's emergence as a basketball star.

Carson, 29, was fatally shot Tuesday night after reportedly forcing his way into a Darnell Drive home in a robbery attempt in Lawrenceville. His life after basketball included multiple felony incarcerations, but he generally made the right moves on the basketball court.

Extras

Photos

Jon Carson, was shot and killed Tuesday night after he apparently broke into a Lawrenceville home.Click to enlarge

Dow Huffman is listed in critical condition after he was shot in an apparent home invastion.Click to enlarge

Former South head coach Larry Ham said Carson was the best player he ever coached. Ham coached Carson for five seasons, one at Hayward Middle School, then four at South.

"He had all the tools," Ham said. "He was a good-sized guard. He had the body, he had the range, he had the vision. ... He was a kid that could shoot, pass, rebound, and he saw the floor well. When your talking about taking over a ball game, that was John."

Carson came from one of Springfield's most successful basketball families.

His father, Fred, played at North High School and the University of Texas, and his brother Isiah followed in John's footsteps at South, where he was the News-Sun All-Area Player of the Year in 2004. Isiah Carson now plays at Miami University after transferring from St. Bonaventure.

John Carson won almost every basketball award in Ohio, including the 1996 Division I Southwest District Player of the Year when he averaged 21.1 points. He was the 1995 Springfield News-Sun All-Area Player of the Year, when he averaged 23.3 points.

"People showed up to watch John Carson play," Ham said.

John Carson scored 1,472 points as a Wildcat, the most in the history of South and Springfield High.

"Offensively, there was John Carson and there was everybody else who played here in the last 16 years," said current South head coach Bill Slagle, a varsity assistant when John Carson played with the Wildcats from 1993 to 1996. "If the game was tied, or we were even down one, you just got the ball to John and got out of his way."

John Carson was a Springfield News-Sun All-Area first-team selection all four years of his prep career.

"John only played one game on the reserve team as a freshman," Slagle said. "We're playing Tecumseh ... and John scored I think it was 45 points in three quarters. After that game I looked at Larry and I said, 'There is no reason for him to play reserve basketball.' "

John Carson's college career took several winding turns.

After playing sparingly for the University of Cincinnati and earning a letter in 1998, he transferred to Barton (Kan.) Community College. He played there in the 1998-99 season, and later graduated from the school.

John Carson then went to the University of Akron, and earned a letter with the Zips in 2000. He never graduated from Akron.

Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0366 or bplasters@coxohio.com