Jawan Carter may have locked up a spot in the Saint Joseph's starting five this season, but just because he's playing well in his rookie year, don't think for even a second that the spot is his forever.
Logging 25.7 minutes per game, the freshman guard would seem to be a fixture in the lineup for his entire stay on Hawk Hill.
And hailing from just outside of Philadelphia, he would seem to have some fan favorite potential to boot.
But fortunately for coach Phil Martelli, who'll have to keep his backcourt situation relatively fluid, he's got a few Carter clones on his hands.
Carter is just one of four freshman guards from the Philadelphia area averaging over 23 minutes per game for St. Joe's. The fearsome foursome is rounded out by Carter's fellow Chester native Darrin Govens, Garrett Williamson of Lower Merion and D.J. Rivera of Philadelphia proper.
Since coming to St. Joe's, these four have shared much more than a position, an allegiance and a hometown.
"We grew together as a whole," Carter said. "We stay in a freshman dorm, we don't really get to stay in apartments or nothing like that. All we really have is each other."
These young guns have played a crucial role filling out the Hawks' rotation, but Carter is doing his best impression of an upperclassman anyway, as he puts up productive numbers despite his small frame.
Martelli sees in him some of the tools that a program - and a winning team - can build around.
"I think the intangibles that a point guard needs, he has," Martelli said. "He's very vocal for a young guy, he has a willingness to compete."
Even at 6-feet tall and 178 pounds, Carter isn't a pure point guard, but he has still managed a respectable 7.6 points and 2.8 assists per game, including a 20-point, team-leading performance in a big victory over Atlantic-10 rival Xavier last weekend.
While he noted that his older teammates are often there to pick him up, even Carter acknowledges that his adjustment to the college game is still a work in progress.
"There's still a lot to be done," he said.
This short statement not only applies to Carter, but to his classmates as well.
The fact that Martelli can get so much floor time out of the Philadelphia four is a testament to their ability, but because of their youth, there is pleny of room for improvement in both consistency and production.
Just as Carter went off for 20 last week, Govens, Williamson and Rivera have all had similar break-out games, but perhaps more often than not, fly under the radar and contribute little in the way of offense.
While the freshmen do average over 26 points per contest combined, Martelli may be looking for more out of a group that represents half of his team's aggregate minutes.
But Martelli has known what he was in for from the beginning, and has told his young guys to break out of the rookie player mindset.
"To think that you're spreading 100 minutes among the four freshmen is a daunting challenge for them and for the patience of the coaching staff," Martelli said. "So these guys have been told since the summer that they could not think of themselves . they could not use as an excuse being a freshman."
Carter, for one, has taken heed to his coach's words. The challenge now is to get everyone to remember them every time out on the floor.
