Jevon Carter’s Legacy At West Virginia Deserves To End With A Retired Number

Editor’s Note: I made a mistake regarding the All-American portion of the requirement. This article now includes that revision

In case you missed it over the weekend, Jevon Carter added to his legacy for the West Virginia Mountaineers. He earned the inaugural Defensive Player of the Year Award from the Naismith Trophy Foundation and he repeated as the Defensive Player of the Year as voted by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC).

If you watched Carter at all this season, those awards come as no surprise. He was, simply put, the best defender on the court, night after night. He altered the game in a way few players can and ever will.

For West Virginia University to properly honor the kid from Maywood, Illinois, they need to retire his jersey. Then they need to retire his number.

Yes, retire his number AND his jersey. For WVU, you have to have your jersey retired before the consideration of retiring a number. Here are the requirements to have your jersey retired.

1. The athlete must have earned an undergraduate degree from West Virginia University.
2. The athlete must have played the maximum number of years of athletic eligibility as set forth by the NCAA.
3. The athlete was a consensus All-American or a two-year first team All-American as chosen by an accepted or primary organization or the most valuable player of a national championship team.
4. The athlete was a individual held in high standard while on campus and has maintained a role as a solid citizen in the community.

Number One - Earn your degree. Jevon is currently set to graduate in May with a four-year degree in Sports Management. Carter has been on the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll and Garrett Ford Academic Roll every semester at college. (Check)

Number Two - Play the maximum years allowed. Jevon recently won the Senior CLASS award, given annually to most outstanding senior student-athlete in Division I men’s basketball. (Check)

Number Three - Consensus All-American. West Virginia’s Jevon Carter Named All-American (Check)

A “unanimous selection” is a player who is listed as a first team All-American by all recognized lists. A “consensus All-American” is a player who is listed as a first team All-American by at least half of the recognized lists. All-America teams are selected annually in various collegiate sports.

Based upon the above quote, Jevon was not a “consensus” All-American and therefore is NOT eligible to have his number retired.

Number Four - Held in high standard

(Check)

Jevon has done ALMOST everything necessary to see his jersey retired by the school the moment he walks across the stage and is given his diploma in May. If the school chose to retire his jersey, which they should, that shouldn’t be the end of the accolades. Carter also deserves to have his number retired. The University takes an even stricter stance when it comes to retiring numbers.

1. The athlete must have earned an undergraduate degree from West Virginia University.
2. The athlete’s jersey must have previously been retired at WVU.
3. The athlete must have previously been elected to the WVU Sports Hall of Fame.
4. The athlete must have previously been elected to the national Hall of Fame of his/her respective sport, if applicable.
5. The athlete must have brought prominence to WVU and/or his/her sport as a member of an Olympic or international team or in the professional ranks.

Jevon will [MAYBE] likely meet the first two, or three requirements. However, the requirement to have been elected into the national Hall of Fame for his/her sport will likely be the obstacle to end the discussion, but it shouldn’t.

Jevon’s career at West Virginia is one of transcendence. He became the all-time steals leader. He set the single season steals record. He became the first 1,500/500/500/300 Power 5 player. He is a two-time Defensive Player of the Year. All-American.

The Mountaineers need to do right by Jevon, a player who led the team to three Sweet 16 appearances in four years, by retiring both his jersey and his number.