Silencing the Twitter Trolls Has Helped Carter Gilmore Grow

MADISON, Wis. – Stephanie Gilmore remembers the delicate balancing act she had to go through as a student-athlete at UW-Platteville, and the stress of being thrust into the starting lineup.

Before she became an every-game starter and a WIAC Hall of Famer, Gilmore was an injury replacement early in the 1988 season, trying to navigate her way playing Division 3 basketball, playing through the mistakes, and dealing with all the other stressors associated with college.

You’ll have to take her word for it since the Pioneers women’s basketball wasn’t being shown on national television every week.

“Certainly, we didn’t have the social media to contend with,” she said. “That’s a whole other monster.”

Some 35 years later, her son, Carter Gilmore finds himself in a similar position with the University of Wisconsin. Normally one of the first substitutes off the bench for the Badgers (11-4, 3-2 Big Ten), Gilmore’s role has grown with greater importance the last two games with senior Tyler Wahl nursing an ankle injury.

Entering tomorrow afternoon’s road contest at Indiana (10-6, 1-4), Gilmore has played steady in lieu of Wahl, averaging 4.5 points and 4.0 rebounds while shooting 66.7 percent from the field.

His teammates have called him reliable, competitive, and other adjectives that validate his presence on the 18th-ranked team in the country. On social media, he’s not viewed nearly as favorably by a small minority of Wisconsin fans whose words carry a large impact.

Carter wouldn’t know, as what’s being written and said about him on Twitter has become the furthest thing from his mind.

“I realized if I’m going to go out there and play, I’m going to go down swinging,” he said. “I’m not going to have any regrets. I’ve played good, I’ve earned a spot out here, and I’ve played a little timid on offense. I’m going to give it my all on offense and defense.

“If it’s good enough, great. It’ll help this team. If it’s not, I still know that I still have Coach Gard, my coaches, and all my teammates having my back.”

Getting to that belief was a process for the 6-7 junior, who endured plenty of online harassment adjusting to college basketball last season. With every mistake, Carter’s Twitter feed would be filled with users tagging him with insults or snarky snipes that questioned why he was on Wisconsin’s roster, how he was a Division-1 basketball player, or listing the players UW should be playing instead of him.

Adding a layer to the comments was Carter was already feeling guilty about having earned a scholarship entering the season, believing he coasted through his freshman year and didn’t feel he truly deserved it. The anonymous insults on Twitter didn’t make him feel any better.

“I was not playing as well, not having the best confidence, and just going on there and seeing the negative comments didn’t really help,” Carter said.

It wasn’t easy on any of the Gilmores. Stephanie vividly remembers a moment last season when a fan excoriated Carter and his teammates throughout a game while she sat there biting her tongue.

“It kind of makes it a miserable experience,” she said. “People say it comes with the territory if you are going to play at that level. That’s true to an extent. You got to take the good with the bad, but … they just need to focus on each other and their messaging.”

At some point during the summer, and at the subtle urging of his mother, Gilmore did what many Gen-Zers have been unable to do, he attempted to quit Twitter cold turkey. With a goal over the summer to have a bigger impact on Wisconsin’s roster, Gilmore didn’t want to be consumed by naysayers.

His account remains active, but Gilmore deleted the app on his phone and has kept his viewing on the platform at a minimum.

“I just remember that my whole goal this summer was to work hard and be the most improved,” Carter said. “I knew that players and coaches were seeing it.”

What head coach Greg Gard has seen is a junior who he can count on in multiple facets defensively. The work over the summer has given Gilmore a greater sense of positional awareness, defending ball screens, and how to be effective in Wisconsin’s drop coverage. Becoming mentally stronger has led to him becoming physically stronger playing off two feet and in the low post. That’s allowed Gard to have confidence playing Carter occasionally at the five despite him typically being at a height disadvantage compared to other Big Ten centers.

“He’s understood how to properly position his feet and play the drop, and not get open up and driven by,” Gard said. “The one thing that stands out about Carter is he’s not afraid to mix it up. He’s physical. He’s competitive … He understands who he is and who he is now. For the most part, he stays trendy to what he’s capable of doing and doesn’t get out of character.”

Having some self-doubt creep in early in the season, Gilmore’s start to Big Ten play was a validation of his role on the team. He averaged 7.5 points and 3.5 rebounds in wins over Maryland and Iowa and has impacted games with assists, rebounds, and defense.

Feeling now that he’s rightfully earned his scholarship and his place on the court, that confidence is easy to notice.

“He’s a lot happier now,” Stephanie said. “It was a tough transition … and had to mature faster. He pulled himself together and had the determination to change things and get back at it.”

Before the start of the season, Carter found himself scrolling through Twitter to read some of the news articles praising his development. Realizing he was getting pulled back in, Carter had limited his social media to an occasional retweet. Initially wondering what positive things were being tweeted about him after a good performance, he instead leans into the voices that matter.

“I finally got to that point where I believe in myself,” he said. “What other people say about me doesn’t really affect me anymore. I’m in a better state and playing well. I’ve got my confidence back and realize that I’ve got to this point from all the people doubting me and saying I couldn’t get back here. Now that I’m here and playing, I just use (the negative comments) as motivation again. If they want to hate, they can hate, but I just got to know that I am here and I’m here to play now.”

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