To close out his U SPORTS career, Alex Carson won his fourth Atlantic University Sport (AUS) basketball championship at Halifax’s Scotiabank Centre with the Dalhousie University Tigers this past March. Dal beat the University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI) Panthers 84-78 in the conference final. Carson’s impact on Dal basketball puts him in the conversation as one of the best players to ever play in the AUS.
Playing five seasons, Carson won four AUS championships. In 2021-2022, Carson made the U SPORTS second team All-Canadian, averaging 18.5 points per game. The Dalhousie Gazette spoke with him in March following the win over UPEI.
“It was kind of in the back of my mind; this could be my last game,” said Carson.
“[Carson and Keevan Veinot] are certainly two of the most decorated in terms of the awards and championships they’ve won, so I’m going to miss them a ton,” Plato said. Carson is a four-time AUS all-star (twice on the first team). Carson’s longtime teammate Veinot made the first all-star team twice while winning league MVP in 2019-2020.
Carson said the AUS season is long when it starts in September, but making it through the regular season to play in the AUS championships at Scotiabank Centre is why it is all worth it.
“Playing in front of all those fans, it’s great playing in front of our hometown. When that buzzer goes, everyone rushes the court,” Carson said. “All the work we put in was worth it. It shows that it was worth it, especially last year with COVID-19. We practiced and went really hard five days a week for six or seven months. It was really nice to see that it paid off.”
Joining the Tigers in the 2016-17 season, Carson said he came in as a catch-and-shoot player after playing for Sackville High School. Carson played six games in his first season as he missed the second half due to a groin injury. Since then, Carson saw success. Averaging 17 points per game in the 2017-18 season, Carson expanded his game and rose to stardom.
The six-foot-five guard said he added more to his game over the years. Making moves off the dribble, building his skills near the net and defensive improvements contributed to Carson’s success.
“Alex has always been a great shooter, a phenomenal shooter. I think one of the best three-point shooters in the country,” Plato said.
Watching Carson get on a roll from beyond the three-point arc, said Dal’s veteran bench boss, is his favourite memory of coaching him.
“Everybody knowing that when he’s going to take the shot, more times than not, they’re all expecting it to go in every single time,” Plato said.
Carson never looked back after the 2017-18 season, with career averages of 15.5 points per game and shooting 43.3 per cent from 3-point range.
Leaving Dalhousie basketball, Carson said he wants the team to continue their current work ethic through the coming seasons.
“I think that’s kind of the biggest separator for us. Different teams in the AUS and some of the teams across the country. We just work so hard, day in and day out. It’s hard to always have that motivation and energy every day to go hard, there are days where you are kind of not feeling it and you’re tired,” Carson said. “That’s where I’m saying that brotherhood comes in, where we’re there for one another.”
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