Vince Carter
Vince Lamar Carter was born in Daytona Beach, EL at Halifax Hospital on January 26, 1977. He attended public and private schools; he was the only seventh grader to ever play on Campbell Junior High Schools varsity basketball team as a starter. In addition to being captain of Mainland High schools Volleyball team, he is said to be the most gifted and decorated basketballer to grace the court at Mainland High School where he graduated with honours in 1995.
In 1995, Vince was voted to the USA Junior National Team where he played in the World Championships.
As a Tarheel at the University of North Carolina from 1995 through 1998, Vince gathered for two consecutive years, the statistical leader award. In addition he earned the best field goal percentage and the defensive player of the year awards in 1998. Vince helped the Tarheels make it to the final four in 1997/1998. In both of these games, he was the leading scorer. His outstanding college play propelled him to the five (5) finalists for the prestigious “ John Wooden Award” and the national player of the year award.
On June 24, 1998, Vince’s parents watched with pride as the former Buccaneer and Tarheel was the fifth selection in the National Basketball Association (NBA) draft. He was selected by the Golden State Warriors but was immediately traded to the Toronto Raptors. On 5/2/99 Carter made his NBA debut with 16 points and 3 rebounds in a 103 - 92 victory over the Boston Celtics. During that Rookie season, the highlights and awards started to roll in. Carter became the first Raptor ever to be named NBA player of the week on March 21, 1999 and was also named NBA Rookie of the Month in March and April on his way to being named NBA Rookie of the year in a landslide victory, earning 113 of a possible 118 votes. During that rookie season, Carter led all rookies in scoring and blocked shots while leading his team in scoring, averaging 18.3 points per game.
During Carters second NBA Season, his status as an NBA Superstar was confirmed, leading the Raptors to the franchise’s first winning season and playoff birth, while gathering impressive individual accolades. On 27/2/00 Carter netted a career high 51 points and gathered 9 rebounds against the Phoenix Suns. Carter led all vote – getters in fan voting for the 2000, 2001 and 2002 NBA All star games. This set the stage for his dominating performance that earned him the Crown as the Slam Dunk Champion.
Last season, Carters third in the league, saw him continue to develop as a well rounded player, as he finished 5th in the league in scoring with 27.6 points per game while ranking sixth in the league in made 3 point field goals. On 2/3/01 Carter surpassed Doug Christie to become the Raptors all time leading scorer against New Jersey.
In the summer of 2000, Carter was chosen to represent the United States at the Olympic Games In Sydney, Australia. [next page]