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Carlton Duncan Hines known on the streets as Sea Town came into this world April of 1971 in the Bronx, New York to his moms Teresa Hines. Carlton's pops wasn't around but he had three older brothers Kevin, Kenny and Keith. They was posted up in the South Bronx Melrose housing projects which was straight treacherous during the era Carlton was coming up as a young boy. But even with all the circumstances Carlton's moms did everything she could to keep her sons away from trouble and keep them moving in the right direction and give them the best life she possibly could. Carlton loved his moms and wanted to give her a better situation. Over time it became obvious that he might have a gift that could lift his family up out of the projects. He would spend his nights at PS1 Park hooping working on his craft every day every night hundreds of layups hundreds of jump shots and by the time he hit 12 years old he was showing so much talent that he was cooking kids five years older than him. And by the time he was 14 his name was echoing through ABC D camps Nike camps and he was getting recruited straight out of junior high by mad colleges. He would polish his skills at Goucho's gym known for its rough games and savage competition under coach Dave McCullough. And this is where he picked up the fundamentals and toughness. Going into high school Carlton was getting recruited by multiple schools around the city. They knew if he was on their basketball squad they would have a dynasty. And a lot of them did whatever they could to get Carlton to come to their school including a coach named Stan dinner who convinced Carlton to leave his Bronx hood and attend high school in Harlem at Manhattan Center known for famous graduates like Cameron Giles who would go on to become the face of the diplomat movement and former bad boy artist and 1990 superstar mase. But during this time at Manhattan Center Carlton Hines was the man and they would become a powerhouse Carlton would become dominant in the city going up against future NBA players like Kenny Anderson who would later attend Georgia Tech and become the second overall pick in the NBA draft. More and more you would see coaches coming in and out of the Melrose housing projects searching for Carlton trying to get him to sign with their school. Carlton had over 30 scholarship offers from schools around the nation but there was one school in particular that he really wanted to go to and that was Syracuse. He wanted to play for coach Jim Bayheim. And the more his squad won the more spotlight was on Carlton. Everybody wanted a piece of him. Wanted to know what college he was going to and if he wasn't going to college. Was he going straight to the NBA? So it wasn't unusual for there to always be college coaches lurking around the projects searching for Carlton. But Carlton started to have some problems in high school. He got comfortable with being a superstar and when it came to his grades he didn't really take them serious. His coach Stan dinner would look the other way on Carlton's grades because he needed him on the basketball court to win games. Going into his junior season of high school there started to be a lot of changes in Carlton's life. His coach would leave for a better opportunity and the new coaching staff but it hit with Carlton. Carlton's moms started to feel like with all of the media coverage and the problems he was starting to have its score with the coaches and his grades that he needed a fresh start. And that fresh start would be in Maine. At the Maine Central Institute High School under head coach Paul Pelicani and alongside future NBA all star and NBA champion Sam Caselle who spoke real highly of playing alongside Carlton Hines. Syracuse had the biggest gym Carlton Hines had ever seen. The carrier dome. This was progress. He made a verbal commitment to the orange and juniors of his junior year. South Bronx was going to be in his rear view mirror. This was the final pit stop before the NBA. There was only one slight condition. He had to finish high school. His mom's decision would prove to be right. And at the start of his junior year Carlton Hines would get a visit at the Maine Central Institute from none other than Jim Bohine. He spoke with Carlton for hours about his life and his future and he told him you got a full ride to Syracuse University. The only thing I need you to do is graduate from Maine Central Institute and keep your grades up. That's it. Carlton would go on to dominate his junior year, averaging 25 points a game and everything was going smooth. The only problem was Carlton was always homesick. He missed the Bronx. He missed Melrose housing projects. There's a big difference in the love that he would get in Maine and the love that he would get in Harlem or the Bronx. And Carlton, he missed that love. His moms would tell him, you're not missing nothing here. The projects ain't going nowhere. Just stay focused on what you need to do in Maine so you can go to college. But Carlton, he just missed home too much. Whenever he would come for the weekend, he would never want to go back to Maine. His moms would always convince him to go back. But going into his senior season, he got into a big argument with his coach Paul Pelicani over using the phone after hours. Come to the coach, Carlton just kind of went off and he was like, you know what? If you're going to have that type of attitude, you off the team, you can go home. And Carlton was just like, hey, you want me to go home? I'm leaving. According to Carlton's moms, she felt like this is what he wanted to do. That's why I didn't take too much to push him away. But by doing this, he jeopardized his scholarship to Syracuse and he jeopardized his future. And once Carlton was back in New York City, he would try to attend Stevenson High, which was known to have a real good basketball program. The school officials would rule Carlton ineligible once they found out that he was using a fake address. He was turned in by another coach in New York City who didn't want to see him play. When Carlton refused to play for his team, he decided to turn that information in and now he was ruled as ineligible. After being ruled ineligible for basketball for his senior year, Carlton became so depressed that he dropped out of school just four months before graduating. Now his hoop dreams were fading and fading fast. According to his moms, he would often lay around the crib feeling down and she would tell him, if you're not playing ball or going to school, you're going to have to get a job. This the real world, but Carlton, he wasn't trying to hear it. But things would get even worse for him because one morning he told his moms that he was going over a friend's crib to get a pair of sneakers and that he would be right back. But after hours passed, his moms started to wonder where he was at. He still hadn't returned. Probably a neighbor named Mr. Muhammad came to her door and told her that she needed to come quick and that Carlton was in big trouble. The story goes while Carlton was hanging out in the Melrose housing projects. He ran into an associate named Tweedle. Some kind of altercation broke out and Tweedle brought out a knife and went at Carlton. Carlton picked up a broken bottle and threw it at Tweedle but it hit him in the throat. He fell to the ground and started to bleed out. Carlton, from complete shock of what just happened, he took off running. Eventually the ambulance would arrive on scene and take Tweedle away. But he was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital. Now Carlton Hines, former basketball superstar and NBA prospect was now a straight up killer facing serious time in prison.
Carlton would eventually turn himself in to authorities. The case went to trial and the jury would find Carlton not guilty due to self-defense. He had picked up that bottle trying to protect himself from a man with a deadly weapon. But even though he beat the case legally, the damage was already done. The NBA dreams that seemed so close was now ancient history. The full ride to Syracuse was gone. His reputation in the streets had changed too. Instead of being known as the kid with hoop skills, he was now being seen as somebody who could get down when it came time to throw hands. And that reputation would follow him for the rest of his life in the hood.
From that point forward, Carlton Hines made a choice to fully embrace the street life. He stopped trying to go back to school or pursue basketball. Instead, he focused his energy on the drug game. He started moving weight in the Melrose projects and built a solid clientele. Carlton was smart with his money and he made sure his moms was taken care of. He bought her a new apartment out of the projects and made sure she had everything she needed. He wanted to give her the better life she always dreamed of, just not the way either of them had planned.
As the years went on, Carlton became a major figure in the Bronx drug trade during the late 80s and early 90s. He was known for being about his business and handling his problems in the streets without bringing drama to the neighborhood. He had respect from a lot of the older cats and the younger generation looked up to him. He was making serious paper and living the flashy life that came with being a top tier hustler. But the feds was watching. They was always watching. And in 1992, Carlton Hines got indicted on federal drug charges along with several other major players in the Bronx drug game. He faced serious time. We talking decades. Carlton knew the game he was playing and he accepted the consequences that came with it.
Carlton Hines was eventually convicted and sentenced to a lengthy prison bid. While he was locked up, he had time to reflect on his life and all the choices he made. From being the most talented kid in the Bronx with a guaranteed future to doing a bid for federal drug trafficking. That's a long fall. But Carlton used his time inside to stay out of trouble and keep his head down. He studied and stayed disciplined. Some people who knew him said he actually became a mentor to younger inmates and tried to give them game about how the streets would destroy you if you let it.
Carlton Hines passed away in 2015 while still incarcerated. He never made it back to the Bronx as a free man. His legacy is one of the most tragic stories to come out of the projects in that era. A kid who had everything going for him, multiple scholarship offers, NBA scouts checking for him regularly, a mother who sacrificed everything to keep him on the right path. But one moment of violence changed everything. One altercation in the projects took away his future and set him on a path toward the federal penitentiary. Carlton Hines represents something real about the struggle in the inner cities. He represents how close some of these young brothers come to making it out, and how quickly it can all get snatched away. The system wasn't designed for Carlton Hines to succeed. The circumstances of his birth, the environment he grew up in, the coaches who looked the other way on his education while using him for wins on the court. All of it played a role. But at the end of the day, Carlton made his choices and had to live with the consequences. His story serves as a cautionary tale for every young brother in the hood with talent and potential. The streets ain't never gonna love you like legitimate success will. The real victory ain't selling dope or catching bodies. The real victory is getting out and staying out. That's the legacy of Carlton Duncan Hines. A what-could-have-been that turned into what-went-wrong. May he rest easy.