By Harry Minium
Aaron Carver's senior season isn't working out the way he'd hoped. Old Dominion University's basketball team has struggled to a 12-17 record thanks in part to a couple of transfers and a season-ending knee injury to Jason Wade.
But Carver isn't crying in his beer. He grew up playing basketball on the courts of Elizabeth City, N.C. Most of his childhood friends would do almost anything to be in his shoes.
"I try to keep an upbeat and positive attitude and realize the blessings I still have," he said. "I'm still here playing basketball every day, competing with these guys, with my teammates who I care so much about.
"Life could be very different for me. I know a lot of guys I played with back home that would die for this opportunity."
Carver plays his final home game for the Monarchs Wednesday night when they take on Texas-San Antonio at 7:00 at Chartway Arena (ESPN3). Senior night will be emotional, but Carver said it will also be a time to give thanks.
And he has a lot to be thankful for.
Carver cut his teeth on ODU basketball. The son of Anthony Carver, the ODU great from the late 1980's, Aaron Carver attended hundreds of games at Chartway Arena with his family from grade school on up.
"I've always loved Old Dominion basketball," he said. "ODU was the only school I wanted to offer me."
Thankfully for both Carver and the Monarchs, ODU was the only school to offer him.
Funny thing is that it almost didn't happen. Previous coach Blaine Taylor recruited Carver, but didn't offer him in large part because he didn't fit Taylor's system.
"I thought I would never get the chance to play for ODU," Carver said.
Jeff Jones had only been head coach a few months when assistant Bryant Stith saw Carver at an ODU team camp.
"I was there to see another kid who had a very good reputation," Stith said. "But then I saw Aaron dominate the kid. I knew if he was good enough to be dominant against a good prospect, that he could help us."
A week or so later, Jones also saw Carver play and offered a scholarship. "I shook his hand right then and committed to ODU," Carver said.
"It meant so much to me that they believed in me."
It seems like Carver has been around forever. He spent a year after graduating from Northeastern High School in prep school and then redshirted as a freshman. He didn't play a lot his first two seasons, but last season played a major role for the Monarchs in their Conference USA championship run.
Generously listed at 6-foot7, he played center and power forward for ODU. Carver isn't a great shooter – he's one for 15 in three-point shot attempts -- but whatever faults he has he's made up for with sheer grit and determination.
He was a cog for ODU inside, averaging 6 rebounds and blocking 16 shots against much taller players. Much of what he does – setting picks for his teammates, haranguing an opponent to the point where he must pass rather than shoot – doesn't show up in stats.
He leads Conference USA and is 21st nationally this season with a 10.3-per game rebound average and likely will earn a spot on the C-USA all-defensive team.
He never loses his cool on the court, even after the refs have dinged him with a bad call, and he never allows a bad play to linger. Even when he's beaten for a rebound or succumbs to a head fake, at most he will grimace and clap his hands as if to say, "I'll get in on the next play."
Jones said he's left a lasting impact on ODU's program.
He is tied with Gerald Lee for 21st on ODU's all-time rebounding list with 670 and will finish among the top 20 players for games played. He may not catch his dad in rebounding (Anthony had 755), but for a guy recruited as a role player, he has overachieved in every area.
Especially in the classroom.
Carver always loved math in high school. "I was intrigued with numbers and with how things work," he said. So he decided to major in engineering at ODU.
He graduated last May, cum laude, with a degree in civil engineering and technology. He interned with NASA during his junior year and is now pursuing a master's degree in civil engineering.
"Most of my classes have dealt with structures, buildings, bridges, highways and tunnels," he said. "I've learned a lot about structural analysis, about how buildings are constructed, everything from the foundation to how wind affects buildings."
His goal is to become a project manager for a construction company.
Yes, Carver is smart. Very smart. But maintaining a 3.47 GPA in engineering while playing college basketball takes a lot of hard work, no matter how smart you are. And especially in Conference USA, where expansive travel to Texas and Florida and other states requires players to miss a lot of class.
Amy Lynch, ODU's athletics academic supervisor, said Carver isn't required to go to study halls like most athletes.
"He's such a consciousness student and is so self-motivated that he does everything he needs to do on his own," she said.
"He's stellar kid. He's so polite and always the first to volunteer for our community service events."
He and teammate and best friend Loren Brill went to an elementary school earlier this week to read to school children.
"He always calls or your texts you right back and always says 'yes mam,' He's just so well-mannered and easy to talk to."
Jones says it bothers him when coaches say all their players are wonderful. In the real world, not all players are wonderful.
"So, when you get that really special person like Aaron Carver, how do you describe that person?" he said.
"Aaron is just a cut above. I don't mean that as a negative comment on anyone on our team or any other team.
"But there's just not that many people in the world at his age with that kind of maturity and character, someone who shows the kindness, the grace, the thoughtfulness that he has shown.
"He's about as far from being selfish of self-centered as anyone can be. He shows how much he cares through his actions and his words.
"He genuinely cares about his teammates. You very, very, very rarely hear a negative word from Aaron about anyone."
Anthony Carver is a proud father, who now shares a nickname with his son.
Anthony grew up with "A.C." as his nickname. Aaron acquired it his freshmen year at ODU because Aaron Bacote was also on the team.
"Coach Jones asked me if he could call me A.C. instead of Aaron, and of course I said yes," Aaron said.
Because Anthony Carver has been there, he knows his son has struggled at times. He said when he was on the road, hurting from nick knack injuries and dealing with fatigue, that it was hard for him to keep up academically.
"I know it's been just as hard on Aaron," he said.
"It's been tough," Aaron acknowledges. "I've always been in the gym or doing homework. My teammates say that I'm quiet, that I keep to myself, but that's how I get things done. In the end, it's paid off for me."
ODU's fans, he said, have treated him and his teammates magnificently.
"People here at first knew who I was because they knew my Dad," he said. "But I'm now hearing from people who tell me they appreciate how I play, how hard I work. That means a lot to me. The interaction with fans is what's touches me most about my experience here.
"Our arena has always been such a great place to play. The energy we feel from the fans has been amazing. I don't think our fans know how much they mean to us."
He says he doesn't expect to get emotional as he and his father, mother and step mother accept flowers and stand at mid court just before Wednesday's game.
"When we're done playing this season, I'll look back at it and take it all in," he said.
But Anthony says he knows it will be emotional for him and family members – he will be joined, as at most home games, by more than a dozen friends and family members.
"It's bittersweet for me already," said Anthony, who is a regional manager for a shipping company in Richmond.
"We're just super proud. He's been the epitome of a student-athlete. We admire his ability to push past the pain and fatigue and takes of business academically.
"He's never been one to complain. We never had to tell him anything twice. He just does what he knows he's supposed to.
"I've taken the day off from work. That says it all. This will be a great night for our family."
Aaron Carver said his childhood love for ODU has only been strengthened by the last five seasons.
When I asked if it's been the dream come true that he imagined, he replied: "For sure it has, it's been everything I wanted, everything I hoped it would be.
"I appreciate everything that's happened to me here. I've grown so much as a person. I learned things here only experience can teach you.
"I'm so glad I got the chance to have those experiences at ODU."
Contact Minium: hminium@odu.edu