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!

NBA Fans and Players – Clean Up Your Act!

During the May 10, 2009 Sunday night Boston Celtics game, Glen Davis, nicknamed “Big Baby,” showed to the world his true character as a “Big Bully” when he shoved a 12-year-old Magic fan out of his way while making his way back to the Celtics bench. The boy was correctly standing well off the court and the clock had run out. However, Davis was not penalized. (A wonderful article interviewing the boy is found on the Orlando Sentinel website).

I was not surprised. Davis, the size of a defensive linebacker football player, attempted to strangle Dwight Howard in game 3 held on Friday, May 8, 2009 in Orlando. Despite Davis’ offense occurring in full view of everyone for several seconds, he was not even called for a foul. It was as if Davis knew that he was untouchable.

The experience has led me to believe that the NBA referees are either
A. Scared of Davis;
B. Paid off;
C. Threatened; or most likely
D. Preferential to the Celtics.

I suppose that referees would have to be sequestered in India during the off season to prevent them from becoming biased. Some referee’s behavior throughout the regular season and playoffs has been disappointingly unprofessional as they have repeatedly called fouls and ejections against the Magic while letting the opposing team’s similar actions slide. The Magic, only 20 years old, has a smaller fan base compared to more established teams, such as the 63-year-old Boston Celtic franchise. The referee has to go home and face his family and friends – they might be Celtic fans.

But, the way some of the Magic fans behave in response to the numerous bad calls is equally embarrassing and shameful.

Imagine sitting in a small stadium with 17,500 other fans, a good portion of whom are chanting, “Ref, you suck!” The people sitting in the row behind you are yelling all sorts of unimaginable filth, most of which can not be repeated in this “family friendly” blog. You cover the ears of your young, 8-year-old son who you brought with you to the game as a bonding experience, but the child is disturbed by what he hears and is asking questions, such as: “What does c---t mean?”

As an Orlando Magic season ticket holder, I’ve been fortunate to have regular seat neighbors, some of whom I’ve gotten to know so well, our friendships have blossomed and now extend outside the games. However, every now and then, one of us will sell our seats and there is just no telling who might show up. In the 22 seats which surround us sit two young children who regularly attend. I wonder what kind of example we are setting for them as we mold them into the future leaders of tomorrow.

Each game begins with a stellar performance of the singing of our national anthem. The proper behavior: stand resolutely in respect of our flag, hat in hand (if one is worn), and listen in reverent silence, cheering at appropriate moments when moved. Some attendees cover their hearts with their right hands. Some bow their heads. I am always choked up with tears by the end of the song.

During the anthem, I hear people talking nearby. I hear yelling in the halls. People want to get to their seats. The concessionaire just outside the entrance to the seating area is hawking “Cold beer! Cold Pepsi!” What is wrong with these people?

Once the game starts, it becomes clear why the fan behavior has become so disrespectful. The game of basketball, once revered as a non-contact sport based on skill, has now become riddled with malicious physical assaults which would land most people in jail. Players are now chosen for their large size and clever defensive maneuvers executed out of sight of the referees. They are told to “take out” other players.

This isn’t football. Is it? The players aren’t dressed for this. Do they need to start wearing padding? A helmet and face mask? What about a more protective cup?

I suppose I was spoiled being raised on college basketball in ACC country in North Carolina where I attended about a quarter of the games each season in the college town where I lived. I was privileged to see greats such as Coach Dean Smith orchestrate the ingenious 4-corners keep-away game to burn up time on the clock when the team was ahead (This strategy created the necessity for the shot clock in college basketball.) I marveled at the speed and maneuverability of 6’-0” tall, Demon Deacon Skip Brown. I watched as Michael Jordan grew wings and learned to fly through the air in “The Dean Dome,” where even the chairs were colored Carolina blue. I witnessed Coach K’s first season at Duke and watched as he grew his team into a formidable foe. And I nearly got arrested when I stood with fans blocking Hillsborough Street after Lorenzo Charles made the last second shot to help NC State win the NCAA championship in ‘83.

The reason I bought season tickets was in part because the Orlando Magic team, led by Coach Stan Van Gundy, reminds me so much of those wonderfully talented teams I grew up watching in the ACC. For the first half of the season, up until the time Jameer Nelson was injured, watching the Orlando Magic play was like watching a well-choreographed ballet performance. Nelson would bring the ball down the court, scream at his teammates to get into position, and then the team worked magic – passing the ball so fast my eyes couldn’t keep up with it, creating ingenious and clever plays that nearly always brought the ball up to the net for a winning shot. What really impressed me the most is the level of team work amongst the unselfish players, a key component missing from most NBA teams.

It was the Milwaukee Bucks game in late November which first shocked me when I watched as Bucks players systematically took out the Magic lineup one-by-one by grabbing and twisting their crotch area. “Why don’t they eject them for that?” I wondered. “Why don’t they fine them?” Two players had to leave the court with “groin” injuries. If this had happened in the parking lot, the Milwaukee Bucks players would have been booked in the Orlando city jail and charged with assault and battery.

How can players get away with this? The problem is that there are only three referees and all are positioned down on the court where they have limited visibility during the fast pace of the game. Some NBA players have become experts at inflicting serious injury on the opposing players without being seen. Up here in the upper level, I see it all, and I’m a bit embarrassed, so much that I’d have a hard time bringing small children to some of the games. There are the elbow jabs to the head and chest disguised as reaches; the punches to sensitive sides; the trips; the fake falls; and the criminal brutality of groin assaults.

I blame the coaches for encouraging such barbaric behavior. If you can’t win the game fairly because your players are not skilled enough in shooting and maneuvering, please do not resort to illegal defensive strategies. This is a terrible example for our children.

I blame the fans who spur on such bad behavior if it means a win for their team. Read the blogs and article comments written by Celtics fans. Instead of expressing sympathy and concern over the welfare of the 12-year old boy who Davis shoved, the Celtics fans abusively insult the boy and his father for voicing a complaint. Can't they put aside their team allegiance for one minute to feel empathy? (And people wonder why crime victims don't come forward.)

I admire Celtics basketball player, Glen Davis for his incredible shooting ability. I’ve clapped when Celtics player, Ray Allen, made incredibly difficult shots. For me, the fun of the game is witnessing the incredibly talented NBA basketball players perform unbelievable plays on both teams.

What ruins the experience for me as a season ticket holder is all of the violence.