Good read. She always knew Texas was the place for her. I didn't even know Justice had an ACL tear this summer.
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/te...ton-texas-basketball-seven-lakes-18383002.php
Seven Lakes senior Justice Carlton has always been something of a hoops savant.
Her mother and former Baylor basketball standout Kacy Moffitt said Carlton could have been a coach.
When she was five years old.
“She was seeing things at an advanced level,” Moffitt said. “She just gets it.”
The sidelines will have to wait. For now, Carlton, a 6-foot-2 forward and five-star recruit, has a bright future to look forward to because of her dominance on the court.
Carlton v
erbally committed to the University of Texas on Friday morning, awarding the Longhorns the No. 7 national recruit in the Class of 2024, per ESPN.
Carlton picked Texas over Arizona, LSU, South Carolina and UConn. Texas was the only school Carlton took an official visit to.
“I’ve known for a long time,” she said in a phone interview Friday afternoon.
Carlton was scheduled for an official visit to South Carolina in October.
Carlton’s first visit to Texas was right before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Her second visit was two years ago when Vic Shaefer had taken over as head coach and the Moody Center was built.
“I had kind of been in a bit of denial because I didn't believe it when people said that you just know when you know,” Carlton said. “I’d always had that feeling because it was the only visit I ever took, but I didn’t want to believe it. But I went to more games, was around them more and just knew that was where I was supposed to be.”
Carlton loved the family atmosphere around the program.
“Vic has his family all on staff,” she said. “On top of that, everybody just acts like family, from the weight-training coaches to the therapists to the coaches to the players. Everybody’s one huge family, and that’s something that was always important to me.”
Carlton said the recruiting process being over is a weird feeling.
“It’s been my life the last two years,” she said. “I’ve been at volleyball games or school functions, or dropping off and picking up friends, always on the phone, constantly.”
Carlton said it was stressful.
“I’m sure a lot of people think it’s fun, and it is for a while, but then it just becomes overwhelming,” she said. “If you have 10 schools reaching out, and each school has a head coach, three assistant coaches, a weight coach and all that … you’re talking to six coaches per school. That’s 60 people you’re talking to in, sometimes, two weeks. And when you have more than 10? That’s just a lot of people to talk to all the time.”
But there were invaluable life lessons along the way. Carlton took away some important self-realizations from her recruitment.
“I just learned to come out of my shell more,” she said. “I realized it saves a lot of time just being yourself. It’s easier to build relationships, and whenever you build relationships, it makes it much easier to pick up the phone.”
Carlton is averaging 23.7 points, 9.9 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game in 84 career games for Seven Lakes. She already holds the all-time program record for career blocks (218) and is nearing the all-time records for career rebounds and points.
She has matured from being strictly an interior presence her freshman year to a versatile threat that can handle the ball and initiate offense, shoot from 3-point range and still get to the rim whenever she desires.
“I want to work as well on the outside just as much as I do on the inside,” Carlton said. “Wherever a coach puts me on the floor, I’m able to adapt to it very easily. I’ve had a lot of coaches take a leap of faith or stick out on a limb for me so I can try and build my game and be better.”
Carlton describes her game as “indescribable.”
“I know a lot of girls who play my position who strictly stay outside or just stay inside,” she said. “Me being able to work so hard on both can tire people out quickly and create a lot of mismatches.”
Now that her commitment is in place, the next order of business for Carlton is getting back on the court. Carlton tore her ACL in July. She is working tirelessly to get back on the court in December. There is optimism Carlton could be cleared to run in early October.
The high school basketball season starts in November. The regular season concludes in February.
“You hear about it for other people and be so sorry for other people who deal with it, and it genuinely sucks to hear, but you never believe it can happen to you,” she said. “I go to therapy and rehab but I feel like I’m in a dream. I never thought I’d tear my ACL.”
Carlton said she tries not to think about what it will be like when she does return to the court. The torn ACL is the first major injury of her career.
For now, the goal is to just get back on the court sooner than later.
“When I tell people I’m coming back in December, they tell me ‘no,’ or, ‘don’t do it,’ or, ‘you’re crazy,’” Carlton said. “I’m pushing myself the best I can. Obviously I’m not going to come back if there’s even a slight risk or if my body isn’t ready, but this process hasn’t been as terrible as I thought it was going to be. When I get back, I just want to know I pushed myself as hard as I could.”
