SEARCH - EVERYWHERE OR JUST HERE!

Friday, June 26, 2009

Welcome back, Carter

Carter won't have to dunk over Howard anymore. Photo by Reuters.

Yesterday, the Orlando Magic NBA basketball team made the surprise announcement: Number 15, VC, Vinsanity, a.k.a. Vince Carter had been acquired from the New Jersey Nets in a three for two trade. Carter, an Allstar himself, would add to the already talented starting lineup of Allstars: center Dwight Howard, point guard Jameer Nelson, and power forward Rashard Lewis, to fill the critical position of shooting guard.

Carter, a native of Daytona Beach and resident of Orlando, is already a hometown hero in the eyes of local residents. In an effort to give back, Carter has generously donated to many organizations which have touched his life. He is highly admired and respected for his generous philanthropy. It is only fitting that Carter come home to play for the local NBA team, the Orlando Magic, where he can someday end his basketball playing career.

Carter attended Mainland High School in Daytona Beach, part of the Volusia County public school system. His team won the state championship in 1995. Carter played baritone in the marching band and the saxophone in the jazz band and graduated with honors in 1995.

In 1995, Carter was accepted to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he played basketball under legendary coach, Dean Smith, before Smith retired in October of 1997. Carter was the Tarheel’s leading scorer during UNC’s NCAA final four playoff games in 1997 and 1998. Although he left college in 1998 to take his chances with the NBA draft, he later returned to school and graduated with a degree in African-American studies from UNC in 2001.

In 1998, Carter was drafted 5th in the NBA by the Golden State Warriors on behalf of the Toronto Raptors, where he would spend his next six years. He won the coveted “Rookie of the Year” award in 1999. In 2004, he was traded to the New Jersey Nets where he became the team’s leading scorer.

GIVING BACK

While earning the big NBA paychecks, Carter never forgot his roots. He created the “Embassy of Hope Foundation,” a charity to assist families and children, soon after joining the NBA in 1998. The amount of donations the foundation has awarded is phenomenal. A comprehensive list is currently posted on the Nets website.

Carter’s own website also lists updates on his current fundraisers and projects: www.vincecarter15.com

His mother, Michelle Carter-Scott, now a Palm Coast resident, has assisted and guided Carter in his philanthropic efforts.

While earning money playing for Toronto, Carter set up scholarship funds to benefit students back home in Daytona Beach. Over the next few years he would become an institution in the community, founding a summer basketball camp, donating to local schools and libraries, and even giving 2.5 million dollars to Volusia County Public schools to assist in rebuilding Mainland High School.

If you drive along International Speedway in Daytona Beach, you will see the beautiful, new Vince Carter Athletic Center at the new Mainland High School campus, named for Carter in honor to his continued dedication to education.

Carter and his mother are currently involved in a new project: a 100-bed treatment facility for substance abuse set to open on July 20 in Bunnell, FL. The facility will be named the Vince Carter Sanctuary and will be run by the Stewart-Marchman-Act Behavioral Healthcare System, a mental health group which operates 15 facilities in Volusia and Flagler Counties. The website features a personal message by Carter, where he says, “Together, we can Slam-Dunk Addiction at the Vince Carter Sanctuary.”

Race car driver, Darrell Waltrip, and his wive, Stevie, also sponsor a center run by Stewart-Marchman-Act.

To honor Carter and his mother for their contributions to the local community, Carter will serve as the honorary pace car driver at this year’s Daytona 400 sponsored by Coke Zero on Saturday, July 4.

Carter is also set to open his own restaurant, just off I-95 on LPGA. The restaurant is currently under construction.

RYAN ANDERSON JOINS THE MAGIC

Traded along with Carter comes Ryan Anderson, an up and coming rookie forward who shows real promise to someday be an Allstar himself. Anderson’s stats are nearly as good as veteran Magic player's Hedo Turkoglu, who perhaps coincidentally, also wears the number 15 jersey and has publicly announced that he would like a raise if he were to stay with the Magic, or else? One can’t help but think that Carter has been eyeing that number 15 Orlando Magic jersey for some time, now. Turkoglu might want to rethink his demand for a raise.

Although I am sad to see Magic players Courtney Lee, Rafer Alston, and Tony Battie leave the Magic and will miss them terribly (Go get ‘em, guys!), I am extremely ecstatic to welcome Carter home to Florida. Welcome back!