NCAA Basketball: 25 most mesmerizing players of all time
. . Vince Carter. . player. 441.
The reasoning behind fans finding an athlete polarizing often varies from case to case. So far on this list, we have had drugs/attitude issues, scandals, transcendent talent, and dominance. The one thing that basketball fans enjoy more than all of that, is dunks. High flying, acrobatic dunks. Creative dunks. Powerful dunks. Vince Carter gave the people all of that during his time at North Carolina and beyond.
Playing second fiddle to one of the greatest college basketball power forwards of all time, Antawn Jamison, Carter was the beneficiary of Jamison’s dominance, affording him the opportunity to often play one on one.
His athleticism is/was a once in a generation type, similar to Dominique Wilkins before him. Carter combined grace, power, and effortlessness as most had never seen before and he gave new meaning to the term “go up and get it.” He was unstoppable in the open floor and his outside shot developed into respectability as an upperclassman forcing defenders to play up on him which often led to blow-bys.
Carter was the fifth overall selection in the 1998 NBA draft by the Toronto Raptors. He was the 1999 NBA Rookie of the Year and earned the moniker’s “Half Man, Half Amazing” and “Air Canada” in the pros.
He has also continued to be one of the most vertically gifted players in the league even into his early 40’s. Over his 20 year career, he has appeared in eight all-star games and has maintained averages of 20 points, five rebounds and four assists per game.