Caracter, Derrick

Since birth, Derrick has a large size and quickly grew. According to the recollections of his mother, he began to walk at eight months, and at the age of two he was already riding a two-wheeled bicycle. In his early years, Caracter was engaged in wrestling, at the age of eight he became a state champion in his age group. He was far ahead of his peers in physical development, so his mother had to regularly show his son's birth certificate at sports competitions to prove his age ^[1] .

For the first time the attention of basketball coaches Caracter attracted in 12 years. Thanks to his considerable growth and strength, he dominated the basketball court while studying at Terrill High School, where he averaged 28 points per game and made 15 rebounds. The journalists came up with Caracter, whose height had already reached the mark of 206 cm at the age of 14, the nicknames “Wonder Boy” and “Man-Child”, and also christened the next Shaq . Even before moving to high school, Caracter received an invitation to the Nike training camp, where basketball players of such a young age are extremely rare ^[1] . There he replayed not only peers, but also rivals who were three years older than him ^[2] .

In 2002, Caracter enrolled at St. Patrick High School in Elizabeth , not far from his native Fanwood, known for its strong basketball program. Demonstrating a high level on the playground, he at the same time was distinguished by unsatisfactory behavior outside of it. For regular misconduct, such as breaking the rules for wearing a school uniform, being late and bad behavior in the classroom, he was suspended from his studies at St. Patrick and transferred to Scotch Plains School ^[3] .

According to the memoirs of Dan Doherty, the school basketball team coach, Caracter, at a young age, considered himself a sports star, was distinguished by arrogance and openly demonstrated a reluctance to learn. A year later, Caracter returned to St. Patrick’s school and spent the best season of his school career, playing under the guidance of coach Kevin Boyle, who had been studying with him since the fourth grade ^[3] . Before the start of the last year of study in high school, Caracter was named in the top four of the strongest heavy forwards among graduates of 2006 ^[4] .

The last year of study Caracter decided to spend at the preparatory school of Notre Dame in Massachusetts , where he was advised by the assistant coach at the University of Louisville Steve Maciello. This school specialized in preparing basketball players with poor grades for university entrance. Karta managed to improve academic performance in order to receive a sports scholarship, but in basketball terms he regressed. Getting less playing time and gaining extra weight, he clashed with coach Bill Barton, who considered the young player lazy and irresponsible ^[3] .

After graduating from school in 2006, Caracter entered the University of Louisville. The choice was due to the influence of Eddie Lau, beloved Aunt Derrick, who had connections in basketball circles and was friends with Masiello. When Caracter arrived at the gathering of the Louisville Cardinals university basketball team, he weighed more than 140 kg. Coach Rick Pitino refused to allow a beginner to train until he lost weight to 120 kg. The first two seasons in Caracter’s student basketball were full of disappointments. He did not stand out on the basketball court, but he was notable for poor discipline and soon lost his status as a promising player ^[3] . At the same time, Karacher had to work a lot in training. He recalled that in Louisville he had to spend half an hour in the sauna, then half an hour in the steam room, then work 45 minutes for a warm-up and, finally, participate in a three-hour team workout ^[5] .

In the spring of 2008, Caracter put forward his candidacy for the NBA draft , but quickly assessed his low prospects and withdrew the application. He tried to continue playing for the Louisville Cardinals, but because of the low average score, the Pitino coach had to exclude Derrick from the team. Pitino advised Caracter to transfer to another university or spend a year without basketball, focusing on studying, increase grades and return to the team. Later, Derrick said that all previous decisions in his career were made by someone else, this time he had to make the choice himself ^[5] .

In the fall of 2008, Karacter disappeared from the view of the American media. After spending half a year thinking about his future, he planned to enter the State University at Long Beach , but received a better offer from the University of Texas at El Paso . Karacter had to spend the year out of basketball, working on his performance. In the second half of the 2009/2010 season, he finally received permission to play for the UTEP Miners university team. Although the weight of Derrick again exceeded 140 kg, he performed well in the new team, gaining 14.1 points and 8.1 rebounds per game on average ^[5] . The Miners took part in the NCAA tournament, but in the first round they lost to the Butler University team ^[6] .

NBA Career

In preparation for the 2010 NBA Draft , Caracter worked at the IMG Academy in Florida and was able to lose 14 kg. These preparations allowed him to get on the list of candidates invited to the NBA annual predraft camp. On June 24, 2010, Caracter was selected in the second round by the total number 58 (the third from the end) by the Los Angeles Lakers club. In the matches of the NBA Summer League, Caracter stumbled on both the heavy forward position and the center position. He performed well, having made three double-doubles in the first three games, and on average in the league games he gained 15.4 points, 8.6 rebounds and 1.4 block shots. In a full-time confrontation, he outplayed Greg Monroe, selected under the seventh number, and adequately looked against the demarcous Cousins, selected under the fifth number. The Lakers coaches were pleased with the game of their newcomer, who actively took on the game and even won a comparison with Glen Davis of the Boston Celtics times ^[6] .

On August 13, 2010, Caracter signed a two-year contract with the Lakers. In the first season, his salary corresponded to the minimum approved by the association - 473.6 thousand dollars. Only 250 thousand of this amount were guaranteed, to obtain the remaining amount, Character was obliged to maintain his weight within 125 kg ^[7] . The signing of the contract for the second season was the prerogative of the team, the player’s salary in this case was 788 thousand dollars ^[8] . In the debut season, Caracter spent 41 games for the Lakers, gaining an average of 2 points and making 1.1 rebounds in 5.2 minutes of playing time. Twice during the season, he was sent to the Bakersfield Jam Development League club ^[9] . The Lakers trainers didn’t attract a newcomer to the playoffs.

In his second season in the NBA Caracter, having not played a single game, he seriously injured his left knee. The injury required surgery and recovery time ^[10] . After treatment, Caracter was sent to the Los Angeles Di-Fenders Development League club, in which he performed well, gaining an average of 15.5 points, 7.5 rebounds in four games. However, he was not able to return to the Lakers. On February 7, 2012, three days before his unguaranteed contract became guaranteed, Karacter was expelled from the team ^[11] .

After the NBA

After the termination of the contract with the Lakers, Caracter managed to play for the development clubs of the Rio Grande Valley Vipers and Idaho Stampid until the end of the 2011/2012 season, in April he moved to Puerto Rico , signing a contract with the local club Mets-de “ Guinabo ”, for which he played five matches. Caracter expected in the summer of 2012 to try to return to the NBA ^[12] . In July, he joined the Atlanta Hawks club in the Summer League ^[13] , but according to its results, he did not make it to the team.

In October 2012, without waiting for offers from the NBA, Caracter went to China and joined the Guangdong Southern Tigers club. Having taken part in just one preseason game for the Chinese club, in which he scored 6 points and 7 rebounds, Caracter left the team in November ^[14] . The reasons for termination of the contract were Caracter’s attempt to simulate injury, refusal to train and unprofessional behavior. After the termination of the contract, he through the Basketball Arbitration Court in Geneva, sued the Chinese club 180 thousand dollars ^[15] .

In early December 2012, Caracter signed a contract before the end of the 2012/2013 season with the Israeli club Bnei Herzliya . He spent a full season in the Israeli Championship , playing 20 matches, in which he averaged 12.2 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.2 assists ^[16] . In May 2013, Caracter moved to the Chinese club Sichuan Blue Wales , which he played for in May and June. He helped the team win the National Basketball League (the second most important professional basketball league of China), although he left China before the club won the league title. In 2014, Caracter again turned to arbitration, pointing out the incomplete payments by the Chinese side of salaries and bonuses under his contract ^[17] .

On August 26, 2013, Karacter signed a contract with the Polish club лlёнsk ^[18] . A few days later, a detailed medical examination revealed that he had unhealed injuries to the legal shoulder and right knee. On September 4, the club decided to part with an American who did not play a single match in Poland ^{[19] [20]} . In October 2013, Karacter joined the Lithuanian club Peno Zvaigždes , with whom he signed a contract until the end of the season ^[21] . But already on December 19, having played 11 matches in the Lithuanian Championship and 4 matches in the Baltic League ^[22] , the American left Lithuania after a conflict with the leadership of the club ^[23] . On January 29, 2014, Caracter returned to Idaho Stampids ^[24] , who played for the rest of the season, having played 26 matches in which he scored an average of 14 points ^[22] .

September 21, 2014 Caracter signed a one-year contract with the champions of Brazil, the club Flamengo ^[25] . He helped the team win the 2014 Intercontinental Cup , taking part in both matches with the Israeli Maccabi . Less than a month later, Karacter left the Brazilian club and signed a contract with the Greek club AEK ^{[26] [27]} . In January 2015, Caracter appeared in the club of the Taiwan League " Yulon Laxjin " ^[28] . At the end of February, the American was already playing in the Uruguay Championship for the Atenas Club in Montevideo . In early March, after two matches held, the club terminated an agreement with him due to poor fitness ^[29] . March 9, Caracter signed a contract with the Philippine club Global Port Batang ^{[30] [31]} . He performed well in the team, gaining an average of 20.3 points and 14.3 rebounds per game, but left the Philippines on March 28 ^[32] .

On October 14, 2015, the NBA Development League club “ Eri Beyhouks ” received rights to Karacter, having given Idaho Stampids the peak of the third draft pick for the future ^[33] . On October 31, Karacter joined the team ^[34] . For Erie, Derrick played 24 matches, scoring an average of 4.8 points and 3.6 rebounds. On February 2, 2016, the club terminated the contract with Karaktram ^[35] . February 24, 2016 Derrick was in the Israeli club " Hapoel " from Ramat Gan, serving in the League of Leumit , the second division of the Israel basketball championship ^[36] .

In 2016, Caracter did not play long in the Dominican Republic for the “Soles de Santo” club. On September 7, 2016, he signed a contract with the champion of Slovakia, the club Prievidza ^[37] . Having played just two matches for Prievidzu, Caracter left the team in October. Already on October 5, he returned to Israel and signed a contract with the club of the second division " Ramat Hasharon " ^{[38] [39]} . There he played until the end of 2016, gaining an average of 12.7 assists per game and making 7.5 rebounds. December 28, 2016 Caracter signed a contract with the club of the second division of Argentina "Atletico Echague Parana" ^[40] .

The strength of Caracter is his offensive game. It works well in the three-second zone due to physical strength, good footwork and a large arsenal of attacking techniques ^[41] . Caracter has a good throw with both hands. He chooses a position well before receiving the ball, skillfully opens for the pass and takes the ball well in motion, and also knows how to give a good pass ^[42] . At the same time, Caracter poorly controls the ball and often loses it, getting fouls in the attack, making jogs or breaking the rule of three seconds. In college, 23% of the situations when he owned the ball ended in loss . Against Caracter, double protection is effective, out of which he often loses the ball due to an inaccurate pass. Outside the three-second zone, Character is not distinguished by a stable jump shot , although it is capable of throwing a three-pointer (in the last student season, he realized 4 out of 15 attempts, that is, 26.7%). The throw after a turn in the range of 3-4.5 meters from the ring is also not very accurate ^[43] .

Character is not very effective when playing defense. In a one-on-one game in the three-second zone, he skillfully uses his physical strength to hold the position and restrain the movement of the enemy. But due to the front height of the player, which is not high enough for him and overweight, which limits his jumping ability, he has little to oppose to a high opponent, who will throw through him, and he is inferior in speed to more mobile opponents. When defending on the perimeter, Caracter is ineffective due to sluggishness, which does not allow him to intercept transfers well or block throws. Thus, it is difficult for him to defend against heavy maneuverable forwards, who can throw three-pointers, but against the centers of Karacter who play in a forceful manner, on the whole, not bad ^[43] .

Due to the ability to take a position, intransigence, good footwork, Karacter acts confidently on the selection . However, in the NBA, where he was usually opposed by higher opponents, his chances for rebounds were severely limited. Due to overweight, Caracter quickly gets tired, especially if a speed rival imposes a fight on him and cannot stay on the court for a long time. For most of his career, Caracter has been criticized for his laziness and motivation problems both on and off the court ^{[41] [42]} .

Caracter was raised by a single mother, Winnie Terry, who was helped by her brother Dodd to take care of her son ^[3] . With his father, James Caracter almost never seen ^[1] . In addition to his mother and uncle, Eddie Lau had a great influence on Derrick, who had been his aunt’s beloved for four years and lived in the same house as the family of characters. Many decisions at the beginning of Derrick's career are due to the influence of Lau on him, who had connections in basketball circles. According to coach Dan Doherty, who used to be Caracter's mentor at Scotch Plains, Lau worked for basketball agent Dan Fegan and met Aunt Derrick only to have an influence on his youthful basketball talent. When Caracter’s career in college was threatened, Lau broke up with his aunt and stopped communicating with Derrick himself ^[3] .

While studying in Louisville, Caracter began dating Britt Shelton, who was a member of the university dance team. Together they moved to El Paso and rented a separate house off-campus ^[44] .

In April 2011, shortly after completing his only season in the NBA, Caracter was arrested in New Orleans . It was reported that he, having appeared in a restaurant while intoxicated, roughly grabbed and then pushed a cashier, after which he resisted arrest ^[45] . Since the woman did not receive injuries, on the same day, Caracter was released on bail of $ 1,000 ^[46] .

• Performance statistics in the NBA (Eng.)
• FIBA.com Statistics (Eng.)