Regina Cougars basketball鈥檚 Carter Millar is a role model in many ways
REGINA, Saskatchewan — When Carter Millar first joined the University of Regina Cougars, had this to say about him, 鈥淣o one works harder than Carter. He鈥檚 here every morning, working at it. Obviously, that鈥檚 going to pay off for him in the long run.鈥�
And it did.
In his fourth season with the University of Regina Cougars, the team鈥檚 power forward has been an asset and has gotten a lot of recognition for his hard work. He was named the 2020 Canada West Second-Team All-Star and 2019/20 University of Regina Male Athlete of the Year.
Carter鈥檚 early introduction to the world of basketball could be the reason for his outstanding performance.
Young Carter started playing on the basketball court at a very tender age, thanks to his father being the Regina Community Basketball Association鈥檚 co-coach at the time.
When Carter was in kindergarten, his father, John, started taking him along for Grade 6 basketball practices. , 鈥淗e was a big kid, so he wasn鈥檛 the smallest guy out there. We actually had him participate in all of the drills that he was capable of.鈥�
Before enrolling in the U of R, Carter attended Dr. Martin Leboldus High School and joined the LeBoldus senior team. He was the team鈥檚 starter from Grade 10. He earned three city titles in three seasons, won three provincial championships, and received three RHSAA all-star awards for the Golden Suns. He also played for Team Saskatchewan鈥檚 15U team at the Men鈥檚 National Championship in 2012 and again at the 2014 17U championship level.
He was the all-time top scorer at the LIT in 2016 after participating thrice in the tournament.
The former LeBoldus Golden Suns star joined the Cougars along with his fellow Regina Intercollegiate Basketball League all-stars awardees, Ben Hillis and Brayden Kuski, after helping the LeBoldus to win the Saskatchewan High Schools Athletic Association basketball championships at Hoopla.
The three-time all-star and power forward, Millar, joined the University of Regina Cougars in their 2016/17 season. When he was eligible to play for U Sports, he participated in 19 out of the 20 Canada West games the Cougars played. On average, he had 2.4 points and 2.2 rebounds for each game he played within 8.6 minutes. While playing at UBC Okanagan, he got 11 points and 10 rebounds, which marked his first of many career double-doubles. The power forward scored 15 points at Brandon in the same season, making him the highest scorer.
Although Carter Millar missed the entire 2017/18 season due to being a medical redshirt after getting injured and undergoing surgery, he worked hard to be healthy enough for the next season.聽
A more mature and determined Carter resumed as the Cougars鈥� critical player for the 2018/19 season. He was made the starter of the 20 Canada West games, averaging 11.2 points and 7.8 rebounds in each game. Also, he led the team by shooting a 44% three-point percentage after going 22-for-50 from beyond the arc. At the season鈥檚 Conference play, he led the Cougars again with 12 blocks. He earned his first double-double by having a career-high of 17 rebounds and scoring 13 points at Calgary. Afterward, his team played at Winnipeg, where he scored a 25-point season high.
In the 2019/20 season, Millar was the best in scoring and rebounding, which earned him the Canada West second-team all-star name. In addition to getting eight double-doubles while playing 14 Canada West games, he scored over 20 points in four straight games and earned another career-high 28 points against Lethbridge. Subsequently, Carter led the Cougars with 28.4 minutes played per game while averaging 19.3 points and 10.2 rebounds in each game. He got another 17 rebounds at the game in Mount Royal.
Unfortunately, he got injured and couldn鈥檛 play in the season鈥檚 final six conference games.
In , Millar is 鈥�…a role model for every elementary kid and every kid who goes to a basketball camp. You want people to follow his example, his work ethic, how he interacts and treats people.鈥�
The 6-foot-5 science student of the University of Regina is currently studying to get a degree in statistics and economics. Born to John and Lee in Regina, Saskatchewan, Carter weighs 240 pounds, which he uses to his advantage along with his speed and strength, since he is not as tall as he would like as a basketballer.
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