Carter played at Silver Creek High School in New York, graduating in 1963.

[1] Carter was selected by the Detroit Pistons in the eighth round of the 1967 NBA draft.

Carter, Dave Winfield and Mickey McCarty are the only three people known to have been drafted by four different professional leagues.

[1] Carter played only one game for the Pistons, and then joined the Washington Caps of the rival American Basketball Association.

He went on to play seven seasons in the ABA,[5] spending time with eight teams: the Caps, the Virginia Squires, the Carolina Cougars, the Pittsburgh Condors, the New York Nets, the Memphis Sounds, the Baltimore Claws (preseason games only) and the Utah Stars.