Well I haven't seen him lately, but I'll try to catch a game. Some players are like that, where they don't draw the "right" type of contact. Pau Gasol comes to mind. Hakeem never drew many fouls, but I knew it was because of the way he played.
I use to work at the ACC and I've met Carter various times... he's definitely not a jerk at all... very easy to talk to... very fun/happy guy... and the staff there feels the same... I think the perception that he's a jerk comes from how he deals with the media... I think that's because they've slammed him so much in the past... it's hard to blame him for that...
to add to that... he is very well liked by his peers.. which includes his teamates and other players around the league....
There may be some merit to that but I can tell you that I'm certainly not with the media. For two years I worked as an on site facilitator for a company that handles the travel arrangements for about half of the NBA's teams. Mostly all of the eastern conference teams and two western conference teams when last I worked for them. It was my job to go to the hotels the team would be staying in before their arrival and supervise the hotel staff to ensure everything was perfect before they arrived. This included walking every room and checking it out fairly thoroughly (checking that their key card works, all lights work, all phone lines work, tv works, remote works, everything is clean, all towels and ammenities are present, etc etc). Making sure all rooming requests were met. Supervising who had access to the players rooms (if say their wives, girlfriends or families were arriving before them), taking care of any special needs they may have upon arrival and then finally, meeting and greeting the players as they arrived and handing them their key packets and answering any questions they may have about the hotel or. So, my encounters with players were VERY brief and of course I wasn't anybody that the players would generally take the time to speak with (on rare occasion particularly friendly players and coaches did though), but this being the case, I really had very little chance of forming a bad impression of a player. Vince Carter is the only player that yelled at me during my two year tenure at that company. He did so because I apparently brushed his shoulder in the scuffle for key packets so lightly that I was unaware I even did it while trying to get to their GM. (I had his key packet in my hand and he's the top dog). The GM (who I believe was Grunfeld at the time) was actually laughing and smiling because he was pleased that I'd "run over the superstar." to get to him. But aside from that incident, it was just the way he carried himself. He was just very obviously arrogant. Anyway, I figured I'd explain it so people can decide for themselves if I'm just blowing it out of proportion or if he was really rude. I don't actually remember what all he said to me. I was actually shocked at the time because I had always been very impressed with the way he handled himself in interviews and such. It was my impression he was one of the better citizens of the NBA. Admittably, judging a man by one incident is harsh. Who knows what kind of day he was having. But it was still the only time a player treated me like I was beneath him (believe it or not) and judging by the reaction of the people around at the time, I'd have to guess it wasn't too unusual. They certainly didn't seem shocked. On a positive note: Kevin Garnett was very friendly to me and seemed very down to earth. He always addressed me as "My man" in a way that lead me to believe he had paid attention when dealing with me previously and now recognized me upon sight. (and being that I worked with his team something like 10 times that was appreciated). the shockers? Allen Iverson and Derrick Coleman were two of the friendlier players I met. the highlight: Getting to talk to Walt Frazier about the Rockets/Knicks finals for 15 minutes. He also showed me his championship rings. He was a great guy who was excited to meet a young kid who watched his games on ESPN classic.
We are, I feel, veering off course a tad, unless people feel that being a nice guy benefits your calls. I would say the evidence is to the contrary, as the 'classier' players, Hakeem, Robinson, etc. were the guys who never got the calls...but... What I hear about Carter is this: Around the league, among the players, he is considered to be among the nicest, and is often sited as possibly being 'too nice'... Among Raptors staff, he is considered very gentlemanly and quiet. Among reporters, he is considered to be defensive, occassionaly moody, and often answers questions with a shrug. I think the latter, considering his treatment in the media, is understandable. Moreover, if you look at when the worm turned, it is directly linked to when he decided to stay in Canada. Now this is not to say that it's all an anti-Canadian plot, although articles written at the time do suggest that there is a contingent who felt that the man ordained as the league's next superstar owed it to his country to play there...but more than that it was that virtually without exception, every media outlet covering the NBA had guarenteed that Carter was coming south, and many wrote very detailed articles about their 'inside info'. I don't know if you guys will recall, but Peter Vescey used to mention the fact that Carter was going to the US in virtually every report he did for NBC during the last year or so of Carter's contract, and said his reputation could be staked on it. That wasn;t atypical of the coverage it was getting. So when Carter decided to stay in Toronto, he made a lot of high profile media people look bad. SInce then, literally to the day, almost, the coverage has gone from praise to criticism. Another huge factor was MJ. As often as he could, when Carter was the media darling, MJ would go out of his way to criticize Carter in the media, even when it wasn't being discussed. I'm sure many of you remember many of his comments. As he was MJ, the comments were discussed in terms of their merit, which varied, but few thought to question their motivation. I think if you remember Carter's stature at the time, and if you think about MJ's personality, it's pretty obvious why he did it. And he kept on doing it. Carter would, to his credit, respond with class...He would say MJ was a great player, and he could only appreciate being compared, etc. He never said a single thing back, despite the fact that it must have been confusing for why he, as a 22-3 year old, was suddenly the focus of criticism for the game's greatest icon, whom he had never even played against. Then when they did meet, Carter torched MJ in the first half. At the break Carter asked MJ for his autograph for a family member, and according to all reports, was very polite and respectfull about it. In the second half MJ played Carter much better, and then went to the media and exponded on how he knew he had Carter when he asked him for his autograph. Classy. Again, Carter, although clearly hurt and confused, avoided any retaliation. The last year, at the All Star Game, MJ again took every chance to turn the screws to Carter about giving up his spot...and Carter was in a no-win position. As the highest voted player, and as MJ had said he wouldn't accept a spot given to him, Carter initally tired to stay under the radar as far as the MJ spot. After he had said he wouldn't take the spot, AI and T-Mac, I'm sure with good intentions, offered him the spot...and MJ said no thanks, and made it known that he felt Carter should be the one offering, despite the votes. Carter did so, and was again criticized, and lo and behold, MJ took from Carter what he said it would be wrong to take from Iverson or McGrady. I think that Carter has been screwed...by the media, by MJ, and by the refs. I don't like thinkgs about him, I hate his whiney face, and friends are tired of me reminding them hoiw, when Carter and T-Mac were here, T-Mac was my favorite, and I said he'd be better. Carter has never been my favorite, although he's just plain fun to watch, but having observed what he's been put through, I have developped an sympathy for him I otherwise would have never expected.
In Jordan's first year with the Wizards he publically criticized Carter's lack of defense several days prior to the first meeting. Carter responded on the court by locking down the "old" MJ defensively and torching him on the offensive end as well. Later Jordan remarked something to the effect of "I guess he got better over the summer."
