Good Read <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> Carter in Toronto a study of contrasts Canadian Press 12/17/2004 TORONTO (CP) - Vince Carter's career with the Toronto Raptors was one of exhilarating highs and crashing lows. In the end, Carter departed to New Jersey, leaving a puzzlingly inconsistent legacy from a player who was once thought to be the second coming of Michael Jordan. He was the face of Raptors basketball during their defining years. Young, brash, stylish and able to dunk a ball with such flair. And when Carter won the slam dunk contest at the 2000 all-star game, Air Canada was born. His style was dubbed simply: Vinsanity. Loved by fans, and unable it seemed to do anything wrong, Carter carried the Raptors to the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs the following year. Carter's career arc had only just begun to climb. But four years later, the enigmatic Carter's most stylish displays have been on the sidelines, in finely tailored suits, his game diminished by a long string of injuries and worse, murmurs amid the team that he was too soft, and refused to be a leader. For the first time in his seven seasons in the league, Raptors fans resoundly booed Carter at the Air Canada Centre. The Raptors made a gutsy move Friday when they traded their disgruntled star guard-forward to the New Jersey Nets for Alonzo Mourning, Eric Williams, Aaron Williams and two first-round draft picks. New GM Rob Babcock made it clear from Day 1 he planned to cobble together a squad that valued hard work and team play above everything else _ substance over flash. And Carter, whose level of commitment to his game had been on the downslide, didn't fit that picture. Fans that waited and hoped to see Carter take flight for a high-flying dunk were far more likely to see the six-foot-seven player crumple to the floor with an injury. Once known as a dunker, he has become infamous as a diver, lying prone on the floor and holding an appendage while trainers tended to him and his teammates gave each other that "not again" roll of their eyes. Critics often referred to him as "Wince." Carter missed 61 games over two seasons between 2001 and 2003, and the image of him smiling and laughing on the bench while his teammates struggled through another loss, infuriated fans. Carter always answered his critics and won fans back with a timely dunk or with his playful on-court demeanour. However, following a disastrous season under head coach Kevin O'Neill in which general manager Glen Grunwald lost his job, things turned sour for Carter. The Raptors also hired a new coach in Sam Mitchell, who was as tough as they come in his 13 seasons on the NBA hardcourt. Carter's seeming disinterest must have driven Mitchell nuts. Friday's trade brought players to the team who fit that mould, and two draft picks who hopefully will do the same, even if they came at the expense of a fan favourite.< "They are also the kind of people character-wise we want in our program - tough guys, professional basketball players, professional attitude on the court and off the court, team-oriented players," Babcock said of the Eric and Aaron Williams. "Veterans that have been around and really know the ropes." Babcock admitted he was losing his most athletic player in Carter, but pointed to the success of the blue-collar Detroit Pistons, who won the NBA championships last year practically on sweat alone. The Raptors also haven't had a leader in the locker-room since the loquacious Charles Oakley left in the summer of 2001, and there was a sense of desperation among the younger players for someone to step up and play that role. No one did. The party line from team management stated that Carter led by example, however that grew old in the face of a string of disappointing performances. Carter's stubborn reliance on shooting jump shots infuriated his coach. Carter's signature drives to the net were increasingly replaced by long-range, off-balance jump shots. This tendency stood in contrast to the effort put forth by the team's young players _ its emerging superstar Chris Bosh, and hard-nosed rookie Matt Bonner _ who didn't take any possession for granted. Clearly a line had to be drawn by management. What type of player will Carter be for the Nets? He may find a fresh start to his liking in New Jersey, discovering the fire that appeared to have waned. Or the Nets may discover Vinsanity is a fleeting condition. Either way, the ball in now in Carter's court.</div> http://www.tsn.ca/nba/news_story.asp?id=108405
HE'LL DOMINATE....WATCH this time next year people will be referring to him as a superstar again. And he'll deseve his first place ranking in the allstar voting and he'll be all over espn again. Any money the haters will be putting him back into the "top 10" list again after this year. You'll see
I hope he will get back to the Vinsanity Carter we all love to see. He dunking on guys is always a good thing to see. Perhaps with some help from Kidd he will be an all-star once again.
