Fredrick James Carter (born February 14, 1945), nicknamed "Mad Dog" or "Doggy", is an American former professional basketball player and coach, who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for eight seasons (1969–77) for the Baltimore Bullets, Philadelphia 76ers, and Milwaukee Bucks. He had decided to drop out and join the Army, but there was no one there to swear him in. Instead, he went with a girlfriend to visit Cheyney University for her freshman orientation. He realized he could compete in college and decided to finish high school.
In fact, the school did not pose a serious problem for Carter. Fans at basketball games would chant "In Fred We Trust", and Phelan and his wife Dottie became Carter's surrogate parents on campus. But he faced obstacles when going to play teams in the American South. Among other things, during a tournament at Randoph-Macon College in Ashland, Virginia, he was punched twice while retrieving his warmups at halftime.
The team's record during Carter's tenure was 81–27, with a Mason-Dixon Conference title. He scored 1,840 points, averaging 21.9 points and 11 rebounds a game. He was injured during part of his senior year after being poked in the eye.
Career
Baltimore Bullets
A guard, Carter was selected by the Baltimore Bullets in the third round (43rd overall) of the 1969 NBA draft. that with one minute left, during a timeout, coach Gene Shue looked heavenward and prayed, "'Please, let us win this one.'" They did, 93–91, and the shot made Carter a hero in Baltimore. He had 14 points, 10 rebounds, and 2 assists in the victory.
Philadelphia 76ers
Despite the heroics, Carter was traded two games into the next season, along with Loughery, to the Philadelphia 76ers for Archie Clark, a 1973 second-round selection (19th overall–Louie Nelson) and cash, on October 17, 1971. He averaged nearly 14 points a game for the Sixers that first year.
Over the course of his NBA playing career Carter scored 9,271 points, averaging 15.2 points a game, with a 42.5 field goal percentage.
Coaching in the NBA
Carter later became the assistant coach for the Atlanta Hawks (1981–1983), Chicago Bulls (1984–1985), and Washington Bullets (1985–1987). He was an assistant coach for the 76ers from 1987 to 1992, and at the start of the 1992–93 season before becoming the head coach of the Sixers for almost two seasons, from late-1992 to mid-1994.
Legacy
On December 1, 2007, Carter had his jersey, number 33, retired at halftime of the Mount St. Mary's v. Loyola College of Baltimore men's basketball game at Coach Jim Phelan Court in Knott Arena in Emmitsburg, Maryland. He was the first Mountaineer basketball player to have his number retired.
NBA career statistics
Regular season
|-
| align="left" | 1969–70
| align="left" | Baltimore
| 76 || – || 16.0 || .358 || – || .690 || 2.5 || 1.6 || – || – || 5.2
|-
| align="left" | 1970–71
| align="left" | Baltimore
| 77 || – || 22.2 || .417 || – || .650 || 3.3 || 2.1 || – || – || 10.4
|-
| align="left" | 1971–72
| align="left" | Baltimore
| 2 || – || 34.0 || .222 || – || .333 || 9.5 || 6.0 || – || – || 7.5
|-
| align="left" | 1971–72
| align="left" | Philadelphia
| 77 || – || 27.9 || .444 || – || .630 || 4.0 || 2.6 || – || – || 13.8
|-
| align="left" | 1972–73
| align="left" | Philadelphia
| 81 || – || 37.0 || .421 || – || .704 || 6.0 || 4.3 || – || – || 20.0
|-
| align="left" | 1973–74
| align="left" | Philadelphia
| 78 || – || 39.0 || .430 || – || .709 || 4.8 || 5.7 || 1.4 || 0.3 || 21.4
|-
| align="left" | 1974–75
| align="left" | Philadelphia
| 77 || – || 39.6 || .447 || – || .738 || 4.4 || 4.4 || 1.1 || 0.3 || 21.9
|-
| align="left" | 1975–76
| align="left" | Philadelphia
| 82 || – || 36.5 || .417 || – || .702 || 3.6 || 4.5 || 1.7 || 0.2 || 18.9
|-
| align="left" | 1976–77
| align="left" | Philadelphia
| 14 || – || 16.9 || .426 || – || .526 || 1.7 || 1.5 || 0.8 || 0.1 || 6.9
|-
| align="left" | 1976–77
| align="left" | Milwaukee
| 47 || – || 18.6 || .416 || – || .753 || 2.0 || 2.2 || 0.6 || 0.1 || 8.3
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career
| 611 || – || 30.0 || .425 || – || .693 || 3.9 || 3.5 || 1.2 || 0.2 || 15.2
|}
Playoffs
|-
| align="left" | 1969–70
| align="left" | Baltimore
| 7 || – || 36.1 || .383 || – || .607 || 4.4 || 3.4 || – || – || 14.1
|-
| align="left" | 1970–71
| align="left" | Baltimore
| 18 || – || 33.2 || .415 || – || .644 || 4.6 || 2.0 || – || – || 14.6
|-
| align="left" | 1975–76
| align="left" | Philadelphia
| 3 || – || 41.7 || .433 || – || .867 || 3.3 || 5.0 || 1.3 || 0.3 || 28.0
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career
| 28 || – || 34.8 || .410 || – || .687 || 4.4 || 2.7 || 1.3 || 0.3 || 15.9
|}
Head coaching record
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|Philadelphia
| style="text-align:left;"|
| 26||7||19|||| style="text-align:center;"|6th in Atlantic||—||—||—||—
| style="text-align:center;"|Missed playoffs
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|Philadelphia
| style="text-align:left;"|
| 82||25||57|||| style="text-align:center;"|6th in Atlantic||—||—||—||—
| style="text-align:center;"|Missed playoffs
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career
| 108||32||76|||| ||0||0||0||||