CD’s Boothe lands ISU walk-on spot

The flair Central Decatur’s Carter Boothe demonstrated while donning Cardinal red and white was hidden away in one respect as Boothe kept a point of burgeoning pride to himself for several months.

In June, Carter was offered the chance to turn his childhood Division I dreams into a reality when he sat in the office of Iowa State men’s basketball coach Steve Prohm.

Before that meeting came to fruition, Zach Clark had reached out to ISU hoops in April to see if Carter’s dream could actually happen.

Through Clark’s connection coaching with former Cyclone all-Big 12 performer Jake Sullivan (the founder of Kingdom Hoops and a former coach of Carter’s in the organization), Clark found a resonating voice.

Coaches on the Cyclone staff had been given Carter’s highlight films. When Sullivan reached out directly to Prohm several times, the wheels were set in motion for southern Iowa’s next Division I athlete.

“The lesson in that whole story about how Jake reached out on behalf of him was because of the impact Carter left on Jake in his time there,” Clark said of Carter’s tenure as a Kingdom Hoops AAU player.

After extended talks between several parties who vouched on Carter’s behalf, Carter himself was able to rub off on ISU’s now fourth-year coach.

Boothe had been in communication with Prohm for several weeks through text messages and when he and his father Curtis went to Ames for Boothe’s ISU orientation, he was invited into Prohm’s office.

“We talked and talked a little about it and then he said, ‘If it’d be cool with you, I’d love to have you as a walk-on.’ And I was like ‘Yeah, that’d be cool with me,” said Carter.

Carter became the second Cardinal athlete this summer to set his future sights toward Ames after Cole Pedersen verbally commited to play football for the Cyclones.

The Boothes, a Hawkeye family, became Cyclones in that moment as Carter recalled his father shaking with excitement and pride.

Curtis lent Carter perspective afterward.

“He said it’s just an amazing opportunity, it’s just a lot of things I’m going to get to see and experience over the years,” Carter said.

Clark knew before Carter did that Prohm would be extending the offer and had to restrain himself from spilling the beans.

As always, Carter’s basketball coach was one of, if not his biggest supporter.

Carter will be living close to ISU’s athletic facilities with three other roommates, including Cyclone senior Nick Weiler-Babb.

Carter’s attitude doesn’t seem to have changed much from his school days that made him the South Central Iowa Male Athlete of the Year recipient.

“I’m a walk-on. I’m obviously going to work my butt of every day and do whatever he (Prohm) tells me to do.”

Now, the bane of CD’s POI and South Central Iowa basketball foes will find a supporting cast that extends beyond Leon as people will look anxiously to see where Carter’s improvement shows up in Hilton Coliseum and in Big 12 country this coming winter.