Some guys are passers, some guys are dunkers, but Darel Carrier was most definitely a shooter. After being named 1st-team All-OVC for 3 straight years from 1962–1964, he was named an ABA All-Star for 3 straight years from 1968-1970. He set the record for highest career 3P% in ABA history and even won a gold medal at the 1967 Pan Am Games. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Darel about being a great shooter and having an athletic family. Today is Darel’s 82nd birthday so let us be the 1st to wish him a happy 1!
(photo credit: wkyufm.org)
You played for Hall of Fame coach EA Diddle at Western Kentucky: what made him such a great coach, and what was the most important thing that you ever learned from him? Back then you could recruit a little differently than you can today. He was at my house every morning 4-5 times/week for 2 years so I got to know him pretty well. He said that I could come up and play against his All-American Bobby Rascoe to improve my game. I was able to figure out what he was doing wrong and try to capitalize on it after a few games. He was really tough on defense so I learned how to knock him off me, which helped me in the pros. The reason I chose WKU over Kentucky is because my twin brother Harel was given a scholarship to play at WKU, while the Wildcats only gave him a scholarship to be a trainer. I made the very 1st shot in the building that was named after Diddle in 1963.
In the spring of 1964 you were selected in the NBA draft by the St. Louis Hawks: why did you decide to sign with the ABA’s Kentucky Colonels instead? I actually joined the Phillips 66ers for 3 years of AAU ball before turning pro in 1967. I knew that the Hawks kept their #1 pick so I said I would not show up without a no-cut contract. I thought the 66ers were even better than most pro teams back in the day: they set their players up with great jobs afterward.
At the 1967 Pan Am Games in Canada you were a member of team USA along with several future Hall of Famers (Wes Unseld/Jo Jo White/John Kundla): was that the greatest team that you have ever been a part of, and what did it mean to you to win a gold medal? I was the 2nd-leading scorer on that team and had a game against Cuba with 32 PTS that remains a US record in the Pan Am Games. Unseld was a big part of our team: I could throw it into him in the post and then set up outside for a good shot. 1 of the greatest compliments I have ever had was the game right after my 32-PT performance: Panama played a zone defense with 1 man chasing me all over the court!
On November 18, 1968, you scored a career-high 53 PTS (14-14 FT) for Kentucky in a 1-PT win at Miami: was it just 1 of those situations where every shot you put up seemed to go in because you were “in the zone”? I felt it that night even though I only played about 3 quarters: I was making 3-PT shots from everywhere. I had some other high-scoring games including 1 stretch of 30 PPG over 9 games. I was a shooter since high school and worked at my game every day: nobody worked harder at shooting the ball than I did…and it paid off.
You made 3 straight All-Star teams from 1968-1970: did you feel like you were 1 of the best players in the league? I spoke at a basketball camp recently and stated that I never played against anybody who I thought was better than me and never saw anyone who I thought could out-shoot me. 1 of the campers asked if I was including Steph Curry and my response was: ANYBODY! I hate cocky people…but when I stepped onto the court against my opponent I thought that I could beat them. Sometimes we would be trailing late and the coach would tell me to just keep shooting threes.
In 1970 you led the ABA with 89.2 FT% and you retired in 1973 with the highest career 3P% in ABA history (37.7%): what is the secret to being a great shooter? When I was growing up we did not have camps where you could improve yourself so my older brother Roy Lee taught me to love the game. We could not afford much so I bought a $3.98 ball and goal and just started shooting as a small kid. 1 day the ball went over the fence and a pig took a big bite out of my ball so I just ended up shooting whatever else I could through the goal: rag balls, tin cans, etc. I would shoot and shoot and shoot every day. Now my 2 sons give individual instruction at my farm in Kentucky so that we can correct bad habits while kids are still young. My sons and I have always been long-range shooters: we would take 1000 shots/day to perfect our form. We would not call it a day until we knocked down 10 threes in a row. If you asked a college team to do that these days you might be stuck in the gym for 3-4 days!
In Game 7 of the 1971 ABA Finals you scored 31 PTS in a 10-PT loss at Utah: where does that rank among the most devastating losses of your career? It was a biggie. I told Coach Frank Ramsey to not take me off of Glen Combs because I owned him and could hold him to 12 PTS, but he took me off him in the 2nd quarter and Combs just made a bunch of shots.
You were named to the OVC 40th Anniversary Team in 1988 and selected as a member of the ABA All-Time Team in 1997: what did it mean to you to win such outstanding honors? I just appreciate everything that comes my way. They recently retired my jersey at WKU and I also made some Halls of Fame in Kentucky. Most of the other players on the All-Time team are in the Naismith Hall of Fame so I hope that I will eventually get there some day.
Your son Josh played basketball at Kentucky for Tubby Smith and your son Jonathan received a scholarship offer from Louisville: who is the best athlete in the family? My oldest son Jonathan had a really quick release like I did: he was a little smaller but was super-quick and could shoot the eyes out of it. He was a late-bloomer and not really strong so I wish that he would have redshirted for a year. Josh was ready when he went to college because he was always the tallest kid in his class. My kids might have been better than me…but I was a little meaner than them: if somebody elbowed me then I would pop them right back! I remember 1 guy in high school who called me a bunch of names and elbowed me, so I elbowed him back and fouled out in no time. I learned a great lesson that day: to never let anyone into my head.
When people look back on your career, how do you want to be remembered the most? I have a little book that I made up for my family and it says, “When I was young I dreamed of playing basketball, but I never dreamed where it could take me, if I stayed with the 66ers I would probably be selling oil products, but God has blessed me with a great life and I am happy with how it worked out, I hope that God says I used everything he gave me.” I am also an auctioneer, which I enjoy a lot.