Washington’s Nahziah Carter Suspended from All Team Activities

Yesterday was the first day of practice for the Washington Men’s Basketball program and already they are down one of their biggest pieces. The team announced tonight that SF Nahziah “Naz” Carter has been suspended for a violation of the Intercollegiate Athletics Code of Conduct. Mike Hopkins said there will be no further comment at this time.

Without more details it’s tough to do anything more than speculate as to what has happened. The ICA student code of conduct has 16 sections including Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct, Amateurism, and Sound Academic Standards. Until more information comes out there’s no way to know whether this is a suspension that will be cleared up by the time the season starts in a little over a month or whether his UW career is over.

This marks the second straight season now where a key contributor has been suspended. Last season PG Quade Green was ruled academically ineligible for winter quarter due to his performance in the fall. To have one of the team’s best players out for most or all of the season again would be an incredible disappointment for a team badly in need of momentum.

After the announcement went public Naz (who is normally quite active on Twitter) put out a pair of tweets saying “uh huh, yea chase that paper!” and “I have so many loved ones”. I’ll leave it to you to interpret what those mean in this context.

The 6’6 Carter was thought to be a potential NBA Draft pick this season after a stellar start to last year but he finished with an up and down season. Ultimately, Carter finished 3rd on the team in points per game behind true freshman Isaiah Stewart and Jaden McDaniels and his draft stock tanked with his inconsistent results. However, as a senior with elite athleticism it seemed very plausible that a standout season for an overachieving Husky squad could catapult Carter up draft boards.

If Carter were to miss substantial time it would be a huge blow to the Husky lineup. The biggest beneficiary would likely be incoming Michigan transfer Cole Bajema who otherwise might get edged out of the rotation. Depending on how committed the Huskies are to a 3-guard lineup we also could see expanded playing time for J’Raan Brooks or Jamal Bey should Carter miss part of all of the season.

Should this be the end of Carter’s time at Washington it will be extremely unfortunate. Carter has been a fan favorite for his high flying dunks and acrobatics. Here’s to hoping that everything works out and this was somehow a misunderstanding that gets resolved. But that’s usually not how these types of situations play out.

EDIT 10/16/20, 10p

Carter put out the following statement on Twitter tonight that he’s appealing the suspension but gave no further indication about the events resulting in the initial decision.