It’s been a long time coming for Cambridge junior and three-sport standout Garrett Carpenter.
He finally made his return to action following a year-long rehab from a knee injury by taking the court to start the current basketball season for the Bobcats.
Carpenter made an impressive return by pumping in a game-high 23 points with seven rebounds and six assists to lead the Bobcats to a 69-49 victory over Indian Creek in a season-opening win inside Gene Ford gymnasium.
Included in Carpenter’s long awaited return was a start worthy of a Hollywood film, by promptly drilling a pair of long range 3-pointers in the game’s opening minutes for a quick 6-0 CHS lead.
After the game I interviewed Carpenter, and with a huge smile on his face, you could see the pure joy he was feeling after making his return to action.
“I’m just so happy to be back playing,” Carpenter said. “Being out there with my teammates was so awesome. I really missed being able to contribute to the team. It seems like it’s been so long.”
Carpenter burst upon the Cambridge athletic scene during his freshman season. He earned a prominent role on the football field, basketball court and baseball diamond for the Bobcats during an impressive debut.
To open his sophomore season, Carpenter took over as the starting QB for CHS and through seven games, he racked up some huge numbers by hitting on 184 of 314 passing attempts for 2,584 yards with 18 TDs. He also led the way on the ground with 222 yards on 84 carries with another 8 TDs.
Unfortunately, Carpenter’s season ended prematurely with a knee injury in Week 8 action at Warren Local.
That injury sidelined him for the basketball and baseball seasons with Carpenter getting started with his long rehabilitation process to get back into action.
It was during Carpenter’s rehab stint that I witnessed, during my job covering the Bobcats as a sportswriter for the Daily Jeffersonian, an example of a kid who displayed the perfect example of being a team-first player.
Despite being unable to play, and facing a long, hard road back, Carpenter didn’t stay away sulking about his bad luck and feeling sorry for himself.
During the basketball and baseball seasons, I began to notice a common thing every Bobcats game I covered or when I showed up for an interview at practice for a story… Carpenter was always there.
I witnessed him always seemingly upbeat, cheering and supporting his teammates in any way he could. From bringing water to the guys during a timeout at a basketball game to limping out to warm up the pitcher between innings on the baseball field, Carpenter was helping out.
I remember following one Bobcats baseball game, and I sat in the dugout with CHS head coach Jamaal Lowery discussing the game that night. While sitting there, the Bobcat players were busy getting the field ready for the next day, and, of course, Carpenter out there doing his part.
Although he had not played an inning due to injury, he could have easily slipped away after the game and nobody likely would have noticed.
I pointed out Carpenter and told Jamaal, I see Garrett around all the time, and it was the same during basketball season.
“He’s always here, hardly misses anything,” Lowery proudly said. “He’s just a great kid and a great teammate. Garrett’s got that old school, team first mentality.”
Being a long time baseball and basketball coach myself, seeing Carpenter’s example of an all-in attitude and putting the team above himself really made an impression on me.
I made sure I was in attendance opening night inside Gene Ford gymnasium to see Carpenter make his return to the floor.
And he hasn’t disappointed out on the court, providing a huge lift for the Bobcats and first year CHS boys head coach Logan McCort, who are off to a solid 5-3 start to the season. Carpenter currently sports an impressive 17.5 points scoring average, along with 5.7 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.8 steals per night.
I’m not a huge fan of putting out my thoughts on many subjects or issues, but I wanted to make sure to recognize Carpenter’s efforts and his super attitude.
Welcome back Garrett and a job well done young man!
KSutton1@gannett.com; X: @KSuttonDJSports; Instagram: kevinsutton_dailyjeffsports
