ACC’s Carroll to finish basketball career at Fort Hays State

Allen Community College is about to bid farewell to a student-athlete who excelled in many areas. Red Devil basketball starting point guard Perry Carroll made his mark on the school in the short time he’s been in Iola. On Wednesday, the Ottawa native signed to play his final two years of college basketball at Fort Hays State.

Carroll was the team’s MVP, ACC Homecoming King and  the Allen Community College Male Athlete of the Year. After suffering injuries his freshman year, Carroll really took off his sophomore year. 

Carroll was the only player to start all 31 games of the 2018-19 season. He averaged a team-high 16.4 points to go along with a team-high 3.8 assists and 4.1 rebounds.  

“He really transformed,” ACC head coach Andy Shaw said. “He was a good player his freshman year and became great his sophomore year. A big part of that was his dedication over the summer. As soon as we started offseason workouts last year, I let him know that he was going to be one of the leaders of this team and he really accepted that challenge and grew.” 

Carroll’s size, listed at 5’11”, kept away any Division 1 suitors but his tenacity and high-energy on both sides of the ball made the Tiger coaches out West want to pull the trigger. 

“The coaches really made me feel like I had a spot to earn,” Carroll said. “Where ever I went I wanted to feel like I had earned my place on the team. Plus Hays is really nice and I have a couple of friends that are out there so it kind of already feels like home.”

Even having his college basketball dreams fulfilled, Carroll is still focused on getting better. 

“I think improvement needs to be made in every part of my game,” Carroll said. “This year I really felt like I became a better shooter but I want to improve that even more.” 

Carroll had a lot of great moments during his two years at Allen but ask anyone who happened to be in the Allen Gymnasium on Nov. 3 and they’ll tell you that his beyond-half-court, buzzer-beating three-pointer that gave the Red Devils a 70-67 win over Labette will remain in their hearts and minds as the greatest.  

“Perry is a great basketball player and an even better kid,” Shaw said. “He’s the kind of guy you want leading your basketball program. You don’t always have kids like him in your program so it’s been a great two years.”