"Speedy" Carden made an immediate impact at Tech when his career began in 1946 as a starting forward on the basketball team under Coach Overall. He led the team in scoring and was named to the All-VSAC Tournament Team in 1947 as Tech won the crown with an 18-7 mark. They repeated as champions in 1948. He was co-captain of the team as a junior and captain as a senior. In all, Tech was 57-33 during his career. He also played on the football team for three seasons under Coach Hooper Eblen.