Providence's Kyron Cartwright
In our latest installment of “Getting to Know,” we chat it up with California native and current Providence point guard Kyron Cartwright. The junior who is “Straight Outta Compton” fills us in on how he ended up with the Friars, why he may be the most popular man on Providence’s roster, how basketball and a strong family unit helped keep him clear of the gang problem in Compton and how the three-hour time difference between Compton and Providence makes it tough to keep in touch with his family back home.
BIGEAST.com: You grew up in Compton, California and had first committed to Loyola Marymount. How is it you wound up playing your college ball 3,000 miles away in Providence?
CARTWRIGHT: “It was through a lot of connections. I reopened by recruitment after I got out of my NLI (National Letter of Intent from Marymount) and my high school coach at Compton (Tony Thomas) had played with (former Providence assistant coach Andre LeFleur) and the (former) coach from LMU (Max Good) knew (Providence) Coach (Ed) Cooley as well. So there pretty much were a lot of connections.”
BIGEAST.com: Being that you were California born and raised, what was the biggest adjustment coming from there to Rhode Island?
CARTWRIGHT: “The weather. That would be about it. And maybe the style of play.”
BIGEAST.com: What did you learn being around Kris Dunn and Coach Cooley in the first couple of years you were with the Friars?
CARTWRIGHT: “I always had a pretty good basketball IQ, but just being around (Dunn) in practice and being around coach a lot, I picked up a lot of how coach thinks and what he wants in the game. things like that. Plus the level of competition that I played against in my first couple of years here really kind of pushed me. I went against Kris and LaDontae (Henton) in practice and a lot of other good people that have been here.”
BIGEAST.com: Did you feel any added pressure or did you put any pressure on yourself knowing you were coming in here and succeeding Dunn as the quarterback for this Friars team?
CARTWRIGHT: “No, not really. I came in and started right away in my freshman year so that kind of took the jitters away from me early on. So I never really had a problem with that.”
BIGEAST.com: You are considered a pass-first type of point guard. Does that make you very popular with the rest of your teammates?
CARTWRIGHT: “(laughs). It started out that way but overall I just try to be more aggressive and just make the best play that’s available for the team.”
BIGEAST.com: You grew up in Compton and that city has always had a tough reputation, at least in the media. Is it as rough a place as it’s portrayed?
CARTWRIGHT: “It’s true it a rough place. There are a lot of gang activities. On any turn on any given street there could be a gang in that area. But for me growing up, I was never into things like that. I was never in a situation where I could end up like that. Six days a week I was usually in the gym or I was just at home.”
BIGEAST.com: Was it tough to steer clear of the gangs?
CARTWRIGHT: Given the right environment and a lot of good people that support you, it’s not that hard to stay away from it. People fall into it for different reasons but I always had a good support group behind me with my parents and my family so I never had the opportunity and I never wanted to go down a road like that.”
BIGEAST.com: So basketball played a part in keeping you busy and out of trouble?
CARTWRIGHT: “Yeah we had a league that was run by Nike that we used to play in during the summer and, during the school year, I was playing in three different leagues while I was also playing for my high school. So Monday through Saturday I was always in the gym and on Sunday my whole family was in church.”
BIGEAST.com: Is it tough being so far away from your family and with them not being able to see you play like they did when you were in high school?
CARTWRIGHT: “Yeah it kind of is. They can make it out here maybe once a year but my dad makes it maybe two or three times. But we try and find ways to stay in contact because our schedules don’t really match up (due to the three-hour time difference). Usually when I’m getting out of class they’re still at work and by the time they get out of work it’s usually late at night here and it’s the time I’m going to sleep. So I just talk to them whenever I can.”
BIGEAST.com: Let’s talk about this Providence team. You had a nice win over Butler over the weekend, do you feel you can come away with some wins there and build your resume for an NCAA bid?
CARTWRIGHT: “Yeah we always have hope. We never count ourselves out. Nobody on our team has that mindset and nobody ever will on this team.”
BIGEAST.com: You’re second in the league in assists behind Creighton’s Maurice Watson Jr. How much do you enjoy getting other guys involved and do you prefer logging an assist over getting a basket?
CARTWRIGHT: “Yeah I do. It’s always fun to help your teammates. They tend to be happy when you give it up and help them score. But doing that allows me to open the game up for me even more.”
BIGEAST.com: Time is running out on the regular season but you have games coming up against Xavier this Wednesday night at home and next Wednesday at Creighton, two real prime opportunities for the Friars to knock off quality teams and really pad the resume. How confident is the team, especially coming off the victory over Butler?
CARTWRIGHT: “We’re confident going into every game. No game is different for us. We prepare the same way for every game. We just have to execute and follow the game plan and we’ll be fine.”