'She's been a blessing': Sky's the limit for International basketball star Leila Carter
While International girls basketball coach LeAnthony Jones tried to find the right words to describe star sophomore Leila Carter before a recent practice, Carter stood more than 20 feet away — well out of earshot — and acted out everything she wasn’t hearing.
For all Jones can say about a 5-foot-8 guard who averages 32.4 points, 16.9 rebounds, 7.4 steals and 3.1 assists and has had a double-double in all 19 games this season, he was every bit as impressed that she was leading her teammates through warmups before they progressed to drills.
Given that it happens almost every day, Jones wasn’t surprised.
“The desire to win, work hard, show up with a positive attitude, be a leader and always look for opportunities to grow — those are elite qualities for a kid her age,” Jones said. “She’s a guard, but she doesn’t say, ‘I’m this position’ or that. I can put her all over the place.
“She plays with such energy and passion, it’s hard to not like her.”
The ceiling seems limitless for Carter, who less than halfway through her high school career has dominated almost every game in which she has played and already has the 1,000-point mark in sight.
Yet Carter, who smiles when her statistics are recounted, focuses only on what lies ahead.
“I don’t think it’s any pressure,” she said. “I enjoy being a leader.”
Carter scored 30 points against Beechcroft in her first high school game, and finished her freshman season averaging 27 points, 13 rebounds, 7.0 steals and 1.3 blocks.
She has 10 games with 40 points or more this season, including 45 points and 11 rebounds in the opener Nov. 27 against Marion-Franklin, and five career triple-doubles. Carter scored a career-high 55 points on Jan. 22 in an 80-62 loss to Northland.
“She can do anything, everywhere,” freshman forward Chyauna Jackson said. “She’s a very good leader. She knows how to motivate the team. She knows how to start us up if we’re down. ... She can joke around. She tries her best for everybody.”
Addison Edgington: Circleville girls basketball returns to court, wins for injured star
Carter grew up in Hillsboro, in southwest Ohio, and moved to Columbus in eighth grade. She attended Westmoor Middle School before coming to International, a magnet school that was established in 2012 and has been housed in the former Brookhaven building on Karl Road since 2019.
According to the Columbus City Schools website, International “exists to provide an authentic and diverse cultural experience that develops competitive, well-rounded graduates.”
“I wanted to come here and try to put the school on the map,” Carter said.
Jones recalled Carter saying she was tired only once, amid a four-game week in mid-December that included a 30-point, 18-rebound performance against Columbus Academy, 34 and 20 against Northland and the only game of the season in which she did not pull down double-digit rebounds. That came against Cristo Rey, as Carter amassed 29 points, 13 steals and eight boards.
“For a guard to get 17, 18, 19 and 20 rebounds, score and defend, that’s phenomenal,” Jones said. “Scoring 30 with two people guarding you is relentless.”
Carter was quick to say her rebounding prowess comes from treating every shot, her own and others, as misses.
“Just follow your shot. That’s what I do,” she said. “If I miss, that’s my rebound.
“I do want to work on my defense. I want to get better at defense. I can do offense, but defense is probably my weakness.”
Carter, who does not have any college offers, entered Friday’s regular-season finale at City League-North champion Centennial 110 points from 1,000. International (12-7, 9-4) then has more than two weeks before the Division III district tournament.
“She’s been a blessing,” Jones said. “I’m excited to share the next two years with her.”
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Leila Carter putting Columbus International basketball 'on the map'
