The Blue Jays and Maple Leafs paraphernelia commonly spotted in the schoolyard was slowly displaced by that of the Raptors and other NBA teams. I participated in my first March Madness pool at the young age of 13, organized by my coach who always encouraged us to watch college ball. It was a suggestion I took to heart which led me to my basketball idol Tim Duncan, then playing for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, before his Hall of Fame NBA career started in San Antonio.
It was during the summer of 1998, almost certainly after a long day throwing hay bails in the scorching summer heat of central Ontario, that I got into a spirited debate with one of my oldest friends about the merits of the Toronto Raptors trading Antawn Jamison for Vince Carter at the recent draft. I believed that Raptors made a huge mistake by not keeping Jamison and my friend naturally believed the opposite. As was often the case when it came to basketball, on or off the court, he was proven to have the answer.
Jamison was the star of a North Carolina Tar Heels basketball team that made back to back Final Four appearances in 1997 and 1998. In his final year Jamison averaged a double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds a game, winning the Naismith Award as the college basketball player of the year. He was an absolute force for the Tar Heels, casting a rather large shadow over Carter who himself put up 15 points and 5 rebounds a game during his final season, numbers certainly worthy of a first round draft pick.
Carter's arrival in Toronto during the lockout shortened 1998-99 season took the elevated popularity of basketball in Ontario and all of Canada to unimaginable heights as he burst on to the scene. We all watched in amazement as Carter would throw down gravity defying dunks and drain threes like it was going out of style night after night after night for the Raptors, still sporting their inaugural jerseys with the jagged pinstripes and jurassic era design (oh the memories). What's more, the team seemed headed in the right direction.
Even after the departure of Tracy MacGrady, there was a huge buzz around Toronto and across the country as the Raptors made steady improvements and looked to be a team poised to make some noise in the post-season. This came to a head during the famous showdown between Carter and the Raptors and Allen Iverson and the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2001 Eastern Conference semifinals. It went down to the final two seconds of Game Seven, when Carter held the game in his hands and put up a buzzer beater that was just long.
It all went down hill after that. The Raptors dealt with serious injuries, including to Carter himself, which left them at the wrong end of the standings.
Then there was a shakeup in the front office. Things didn't go the way Vince wanted them to. Promises were made and not kept. Vince suffered more injuries. The team struggled even more. Before you knew it, less than two years after being one shot away from the Eastern Conference Finals, the team had become a circus. And without putting too fine a point on it, Vince quit.
As a teenager, it was almost impossible to understand how any professional athlete could possibly quit on their team. Then again, all aspects of life are so much simpler when you're young. Now, almost ten years later as small pieces of the truth sift their way into the public forum, it's a lot easier to understand why Vince Carter became so disillusioned while playing for the Raptors.
The recent return to Toronto of the player once known to be half-man, half-amazing as a member of the Dallas Mavericks has ignited the debate about whether Toronto sports fans should embrace him or shun him. My best friend asked me the other day if they should retire his #15. I had to think about it, and my initial response was that if the Raptors decided to, I wouldn't have a problem with it. Realizing I dodged the question, he followed up with: "but if it were up to you, would you do it?"
I didn't have an answer.
Not ten minutes after the`conversation ended, a half-hour documentary entitled "Vince Carter: The Re-imagaining of VC" came on the TV. Basketball writer Michael Grange told the story of how Carter fell from being among the most iconic figures in Toronto sports lore to the most hated. It featured interviews with all the key figures from the story: Richard Peddie, Glen Grunwald, Rob Babcock, Alvin Williams, and Carter himself. It was a very revealing half hour, one I am very glad that I was able to watch.
The jist of it was this: the whole situation was poorly handled by a lot of people, and there is plenty of blame to go around. Richard Peddie, president of MLSE, made promises that he was either unwilling or unable to keep. He made some very poor decisions. Vince Carter also made some poor decisions and admitted he probably could have handled the situation better. And Rob Babcock, who Peddie concedes never should have been hired to replace Glen Grunwald as GM in the first place, made the whole situation worse by agreeing to one of the worst trades in NBA history. Peddie knew it, but he signed off on it anyway.
It's been ten years. We know a lot more about what was happening behind the scenes. We know it wasn't all Vince Carter's fault. We know the team had become a circus. We were all pissed off when the trade happened, I know I was. I would have paid a lot of money to be at the Air Canada Centre when Carter first returned as a member of the Nets to rain mercilous boos upon him. But ten years is a long time to hold a grudge that is not entirely deserved. It's easy to point the finger at the guy who was always in the public eye, but the truth is a lot of people screwed up.
Carter holds a unique distinction in my mind. He is the only athlete I have ever seen suit up for a Toronto sports team that was among the best players in his league while in Toronto. I could probably be convinced that Roberto Alomar also fits into this category, but with Carter there is no debate. During his years in Toronto, he was unquestionably one of the NBA's best players, not to mention the most spectacular. It is that kind of distinction that is worthy of celebration and honour.
His high flying, elite level of play has had a lasting impact. A new crop of NBA calibre basketball players that call Canada home all name Vince Carter and the Raptors as their inspiration for getting into the sport. Many experts believe this crop will help Canada climb to ladder of the world basketball stage in the next five years. Some even believe that Canada could challenge for a world championship. It's hard to argue when you see youngsters like Anthony Bennett, Kelly Olynyk, and Tristan Thompson gaining their strides in the NBA while college players Andrew Wiggins and Tyler Ennis dominate the conversation as the top players likely available in the upcoming NBA draft. Then there's Nik Stauskas, Kevin Pangos ... the list goes on.
Michael Grange described Vince Carter as "the Godfather of Canadian basketball", a title I believe to be fitting. As great a player as Steve Nash is, I truly believe that Vince Carter did more to grow the game of basketball in Canada than anyone. He had a huge impact on the development of my own love of the game of basketball as I tuned in to the Raptors night after night. He captured the imagination of a new generation of basketball players who dared to soar to his heights.
When it comes to VC, I believe that it is important to remember that at the end of the day, despite his superhuman qualities as a basketball player, Vince Carter is human just like the rest of us. We all make mistakes.
Would I retire Vince Carter's #15? Absolutely.
-matt
No comments:
Post a Comment