Is Vince the Next Hill?

gettinbranded · Jan 9, 2002

Michael Jordan's tongue was hanging out, this time because he was gasping. Vince Carter, the next great highlight delight from the University of North Carolina, had just scored 19 points for his Toronto Raptors against Jordan's Washington Wizards.

And the first quarter was almost over.

It would seem to have been the perfect setting for the symbolic passing of the NBA stardom torch, reminiscent of a time about 15 years before when Jordan took it from the legend of his day, Julius Erving. By then Erving was earthbound and Jordan was drawing the gasps and raves prodigious slam-dunker Carter does today.

The Raptors were humiliating Jordan's Wizards that day a few weeks ago, and it seemed up to Carter how many he would score: 60, 70? How many points would make the point?

During a subsequent break in the action Carter walked up to Jordan and asked for a favor. Could Carter have MJ's telephone number?

"It was then," Jordan later told friends, "I knew I had him."

And Jordan did. Carter was scoreless in the second half, taking just four shots, and the Wizards blew by the Raptors to win the game.

It was a microcosm of the mystery that is Vince Carter, the man with perhaps the most individual talent in the NBA. But he seems to lack the manic competitiveness and desire that drives the great ones. Carter can do it all. It just never seems as if he cares to.

"Vince just has a more casual attitude," says former teammate Charles Oakley.

Carter's Raptors are here to meet the Bulls on Wednesday, and there is no one in today's NBA more likely to produce the kind of thrills and memorable moments that Jordan once provided for the Bulls. Carter's explosive first step and long-armed extension lead to snapshots that cannot be rivaled by the likes of Kobe Bryant, Tracy McGrady and Allen Iverson, and certainly not Jordan anymore.

But more than any of the other great young stars Carter seems to shrink from the spotlight and refuses to seize the defining moment, as was the case that night against Jordan. With a chance to make a statement, Carter got laryngitis. The Raptors were a popular preseason pick to win the Eastern Conference, but approaching the mid-point of the season they're hanging in barely above .500.

They've had a difficult road schedule thus far, and they haven't had Hakeem Olajuwon that much, although they would be foolish to count much on the one-time star who turns 39 later this month. The franchise spent lavishly to bring in Olajuwon and retain free agents Antonio Davis and Alvin Williams.

But even with injuries—no more serious than most of the teams in the conference—the Raptors should have enough talent to be an elite team in the East because of Carter. He averages 25.8 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.9 assists. He is among the top 15 in the NBA in steals. It seems unfair to blame anything on him given his contributions.

Yet some statistics are worrisome. Carter shoots more three-pointers (189) than free throws (178). With his ability to attack the basket, it's a surprise he stays on the perimeter so much. Matched against Bryant in a home loss to the Lakers on Sunday, Carter drew just three free throws to nine for Bryant.

Carter almost always avoids comparisons with Jordan and other great players, and confounds public and media with his hesitancy. Despite Carter's All-Star greatness, it's the indefinable quality that seems missing—the fire, the desire. The paradox, of course, is Carter seems well-grounded in his personal life, and many imbued with that all-consuming desire to be great often seem to lose perspective about what truly is important.

Still, the questions follow Carter. Does he have what it takes to make his team a champion?

"Butch Carter was great for Vince," Oakley says of the Raptors' coach who preceded Lenny Wilkens. "He really pushed Vince. He would get on Vince at halftime and tell him he wasn't playing well. I don't know if that team has the killer instinct.

"Against New York [in last season's playoffs] I told him we need to ride him. He needs to hear that. I know he can take it. But I don't know if he can take it from certain people."

Oakley watched Jordan's back in Chicago, and he hears the rumblings that the way to play Carter is to knock him down.

"When I was there I didn't let anyone mess with Vince," he says. "If a guy hit him that guy would have been gone on the next play … maybe not gone, but that guy was getting it back no matter who it was. When you have someone with greatness like he has you've got to protect him and let him know you have his back."

It's not clear if anyone has Carter's back anymore, or whether Carter plans to stick out his chest.
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http://www.chicagosports.com/columnists/content/column/0,2007,172145,00.html

That telephone number thing is amazing. I remember a game against the Bulls last season where the Bulls were playing crappy and the Raptors even more crappier. It came down to the fourth quarter, and the coach is shaking Vince screaming "You're about to lose to the Bulls!! You're about to lose to the Bulls!! Get your head in the game!". It took that to get him to focus and play up to his level (which was better than anyone in the building when he started playing).

That franchise lost bigtime when T-Mac left. The two of them togather would have been a nightmare---provided T-Mac could have gotten out from under his shadow to be the player he is now.

franchise_3 · Jan 9, 2002

T-Mac is a jerk, end of story

Dm324 · Jan 9, 2002

why, because he was better than vince and knew it

TradeMan12 · Jan 11, 2002

TMAC is a top 5 player. I think third behind Shaq and Duncan, toss up with Kobe.

Carter is just a 3pt shooter, who has mad hops.

Kim · Jan 11, 2002

The paradox, of course, is Carter seems well-grounded in his personal life, and many imbued with that all-consuming desire to be great often seem to lose perspective about what truly is important.
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If this is true, maybe we're the ones who have it all wrong.

Nah, basketball is life.

franchise_3 · Jan 11, 2002

Whys he a jerk?

hmmm

he said he would do a Sign and Trade with Toronto and he screwed the franchise over

Hydra · Jan 13, 2002

He did do a sign and trade with Toronto.

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