The Times and Democrat du lieu suivant : Orangeburg, South Carolina • 9

THE TIMES AND DEMOCRAT WWW.THETANDD.COM SPORTS THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2013 SECTION Garter resigns as S.C. State hoops coach if s. I. 1 i Tim Carter years EMERY GLOVERTAD Lake Marion's Mike Williams made his collegiate choice official on Wednesday. The recruit sought by Division I schools including South Carolina and Alabama did as he announced in 2012 and signed with Clemson.

OVERALL MEAC 13-20 7-9 17-14 nn ca E3 10-6 10-6 co 7nnnrni 2007- 08 2008- 09 2009- 10 2010- 11 2011- 12 2012- 13 TOTAL 18-14 10-22 5-26 4-17 5-11 0-16 G(Df 0-8 UUUGULiMJUU 67-113 32-56 By THOMAS GRANT JR. Senior Sports Writer Tim Carter arrived Wednesday morning for team practice at the Smith-Hammond-Mid-dleton Memorial as the South Carolina State men's basketball coach. After heading home following practice and having a deep conversation with his wife, he had made up his mind to end his six-year tenure with the Bulldogs. Later that afternoon, Carter had submitted his resignation from the program, effective immediately. "It was just time," Carter said in a telephone interview Wednesday night.

Carter finished with a record of 67-113 overall, 32-56 in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference play. With one year left on a contract extension signed in 2010, he leaves a program mired in a 24-game conference losing streak and a loss away this Saturday at Savannah State from tying a school record for consecutive defeats (14) set last season. The all-time winningest coach at the University of Texas-San Antonio, where he led the Roadrunners to two NCAA appearances and 160 victories in 11 seasons, Carter arrived in Orangeburg in 2007 looking to revive a program coming off two straight losing seasons under Ben Berts and Ja-mal Brown. After going 13-20 overall and 7-9 in conference play in his first season, Carter guided S.C. State to back-to-back winning seasons.

The Bulldogs went Lake Marion's Williams signs with Clemson; 7 other local players heading for next level too 10-6 in conference play both of those seasons and the 2009-lOsquadadvancedtotheMEAC tournament final for the first time since 2003. The winning touch faded over Carter's final three seasons. After a 10-22 campaign to conclude the 2010-11 campaign, S.C. State experienced the worst showing in program history by going 5-26 overall and 0-16 in the MEAC for the first time ever. An overhaul of the roster during the off-season, including the edition of nine new players, did little to improve the team's fortunes.

In Carter's final game as head coach, a 57-45 loss to Howard, the Bulldogs See CARTER, B2 0 NSr By EMERY GLOVER and THOMAS GRANT JR. The Times and Democrat Lake Marion wide receiver Mike Williams walked into the auditorium in Santee on Wednesday sporting a gray Clemson hooded sweatshirt. Awaiting the arrival of teachers and classmates, Williams sat near a few of his former Gator teammates as the crowd slowly and quietly filed in. Following a brief introduction by Gators head coach Chris Carter and a special video package dedicated to the 2011 Prep Football Player of the Year, Williams made his way on stage wearing a purple Clemson polo shirt trimmed in orange. dfc -ajf LARRY Bamberg-Ehrhardt's Nick Halmon signs with the new Charlotte program during an event Wednesday at the high school In Bamberg.

With him are his parents, Pamela and Jerry Halmon. S.C. State inks 15, including big QB from Blythewood wuii ilia uiiuiy oiiu auiiwusuaiuis behind him, Williams made it official, signing his National Letter of Intent to play for the Tigers. "It feels really good," Williams told reporters after signing. "I got a lot of pressure off of my back.

So now I'm get -ting ready for the offseason and lifting weights. I'm ready to go to Clemson." Williams was sought after by a number of schools, including South Carolina and Alabama, but Williams felt right at home when he visited Clemson. "It (ust felt like a family every time I went there," he said. "The coaches were all cool with me. My family liked it a lot.

Region may not have been a major factor in his decision, but it certainly didn't hurt. "This just adds me to the list of all the great players from the Lowcoun-try," Williams said. "They set it. Now, I'm coming after them." Williams feels that even though the SEC has been known as the best conference in the country, the ACC has the better skill players andhe belongs in that group. With the skill set he possesses, Carter believes his former star could easily step his game up on Saturdays.

"I think it's going to be big," Carter said of Williams' playmaking abilities in the ACC. "I told Mike that he's going to have to really work hard there, but I think some of the things he's goingto do there are going to be phenomenal compared to what he's done here. "One of the things you've got to look at is the time, being coachedby Jeff Scott and the work he 's going to put in and his focus there. He's going to get a lot better in terms of route running. He's going to get faster with the strength program.

Like I always say, he hasn't touched his full potential yet. I think the things he's goingto do at Clemson are even going to woo some of us." In the end, it was fledgling Charlotte that caught the Region "Elite 11" defensive back's interest. On Wednesday, before friends and family, Halmon signed his letter of intent to become a 49er. "I went up to visit because I kind of didn't know what it was, but it was really nice," Halmon said. "They've got all new facilities.

They've got the schedules. It's basically a program that's built up already." Halmon was amongthe leading tack-lers for the Red Raiders and has played an integral role in the program's success. "I'm physical," he said. "I'm hard-nosed. I hit pretty hard.

Basically I've got a nose for the ball. That's what the coaches like." Having helped maintain a winning tradition at B-E, Halmon now looks to accomplish the same with Charlotte when it debuts this fall. "The expectations are pretty high," he said. "The fans really like to see the program come up. We are in Conference USA, so they want to see us win some championships in the coming years." Three sign during 0-W ceremony It was a decision that tugged at the heartstrings for Orangeburg-Wilkinson defensive lineman Virgin Johnson.

Stay in Orangeburg and attend the employer and alma mater of his mother, See REGION, B2 They wanted mealot. Putting all of that together, I think me going there would be something good." A selection for the Shrine Bowl and the Offense-Defense game, Williams took several visits to campuses across the country and attended various camps to display his skills. Watching Williams grow as a player has been an experience that Carter has enjoyed over the last four years. "That's really a process and a -half Carter said. "Ialways told, and he's heard me say this, if you had bought into the system as a freshman, there's no telling where you could have been.

Just seeing him from Us freshman year to his senior year and the growth he's made, ft was just tremendous. It's been a joy to watch him." Williams becomes another Region standout headed to Clemson, following in the footsteps of Bamberg-Eh-rhardt 's Martin Aiken, Da'Quan Bowers and Ricky Sapp, along with Calhoun County's Dante Stewart and Kantrell Brown, as well as Woodland's Robert Smith. The representation from The Bamberg-Ehrhardt's Odom opts not to sign with S.C. State. B2.

Georgia) and a tight end (Zane Fields of Lovejoy High School in Georgia). I'm excited about the tight end. I think overall, we got most of the pieces that we need to bolster and help us for the upcoming year." The Bulldogs signed five defensive linemen, including defensive end Victor Ishmael Jr. of Miami, whose dad played at S.C. State in the mid-1980s and is currently an assistant strength coach for the Miami Hurricanes; Trayshaun Wat-kins, the younger brother of Clemson lineman Carlos Wat-kins; Chris Herise of Central Miami; Tyberius Cravens of Pebblebrook High School, and Greg Newell of Atlanta Sports Academy.

In the secondary, S.C. State signed defensive backs Kolby Gray of Atlanta Sports Academy and Devondre Powell of Miami Jackson. As optimistic as Pough is about the incoming defense, he sees plenty of potential on offense with Binn. "He's a big old tall guy," Pough said. "He's a 6-5-ish guy, 200 pounds.

He can run like the wind. He kind of reminds you of Colin Kaepemick. We'd like to think that this guy can be a special guy in our program for yean to come. He's a good student. He comes from a great By THOMAS GRANT JR.

Senior Sports Writer This year's signing class for South Carolina State took the program beyond its usual recruiting areas. Only four of the 15 players signed Wednesday competed in the Palmetto State. However, each of the South Carolina signees filled a need for the Bulldogs' squad coming off the school's first losing season in 12 years. Shrine Bowl running back Harold Atkinson of Carolina Forest. North-South All-Star quarterback Kylen Binn of Blythewood.

"Elite 11" linebacker Michael Warner of Woodland. Offensive lineman Justin Evans of Wilson. "We got a little of everything," S.C. State head football coach Buddy Pough said. "I think we met most of our needs.

We wanted, in particular, to get a couple of bodies in here to fill spots and I think we got that done. We really bolstered our defensive personnel. We're losing some defensive front guys and we got real thin last year on the front end of our linebacldng corps. We got two guys (Warner and Dayshawn Taylor of Lincoln County High School in Georgia) that will give us some help there. "Offensively, we've got a quarterback and a couple of wideouts (Chris Trimmings of Brunswick High School and Bernard Morrison of South Gwinnett High School, both in B-Fs Halmon heading for new Charlotte team Nick Halmon received his fair share of scholarship offers from established Division I programs.

T1 tt- See BULLDOGS, B2 cTandD.com 0 Z-lJ Region signing day See an Interview with Mite Williams, plus video from Orangeburg and Bamberg Ehrhardl online atTheTandO.compreps. National Signing Day See more stones from Wednesday by visiting Hot Topics at TheTandD.com DfVIN 10NGT4D During a Wednesday event at Orangeburg Wilkinson, wide receiver Sam Felder signs with St. Augustine of Raleigh, N.C., linebacker Stedman Lucas signs wrth Western Carolina and defensive lineman Virgin Johnson signs with Alabama.