A famed high school basketball coach featured in a Hollywood movie is set to visit the university campus Wednesday night to present a free lecture.

The Student Programing Council will present “The 12 Essential Steps for Success” with Coach Ken Carter from his book “Yes Ma’am, No Sir,” at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Student Center ballrooms. Carter, who was played by Samuel L. Jackson in the movie “Coach Carter,” will provide advice for success on and off the courts.

“I enjoyed the game, so therefore the next transition in my life was to coach,” Carter said in an interview with the Daily Egyptian.

Carter, an All-American in basketball and baseball in high school, said he wanted sports to be a part of his life. In Richmond, California, Carter was the head coach from 1997 to 2002 at Richmond High School.

His experiences there inspired the movie about when he locked his undefeated state playoff team out of the gym and forced them to focus on school work. The reaction to taking the winning team out the games was devastating from the players and the parents, Carter said, but was a step he took to ensure players had the opportunity to develop academically.

“I brought the same emotions and enthusiasm towards coaching as I did playing,” Carter said, adding that “everything was about the education.”

Staff writer Tyra Wooten can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @twootenDE.

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