http://www.nba.com/canada/smith_lowdown_020404.html February 4, 2004 NBA Lowdown by Eric Smith: Five-Time All-Star Vince Carter Vince Carter broke onto the scene in 1999, capturing the NBA's Rookie of the Year award. But his coming-out party didn't happen until the following season when VC lit it up in Golden State, winning the Slam Dunk competition with an awe-inspiring assault of nasty throw-downs. Since then, Carter seemingly has had a love affair with NBA fans throughout the world. 2004 is no exception. For the fourth time in his six-year career, Carter finished first among all players in NBA All-Star Balloting. In fact, Carter's 2,127,183 votes marked the second-highest total in league history. There are critics who wonder how VC has maintained his stature among NBA followers. They'll remind you that Carter never has won a scoring title. The Raptors never have made it past the second round of the playoffs. And Toronto rarely has been featured on U.S. networks like TNT and ESPN over the past two seasons. But Carter doesn't pay attention to the negativity. "That's the way it goes," he said. "Look at all the comic book heroes . . . there are always guys trying to take them down somehow, even though they're trying to do their best to be a good person or live the right way. You've got to do better than that if you're going to hurt my feelings or knock me down." Detroit Pistons coach Larry Brown said Carter's critics are too quick to judge. "He hasn't been healthy," said Brown. "When he's healthy, everybody would consider him as good as anybody in the league. You can send him to me – I'll take him. I love him." Brown figures that Carter's accomplishments with the U.S. National Team have helped grow his popularity in the States, perhaps leading to more votes among the fans. "When we were in Australia in the Olympics in 2000, we don't win it if Vince isn't on the team and I think everybody there realized how special he was," said Brown, who was an assistant coach for the U.S. team in Australia. "And he was healthy then. The last few years, he hasn't been. "The same thing (can be said) with Allen Iverson. When he's healthy, he's as good as anybody. When he's not, people take shots at him. And that's not right. Those guys are special. But when you're not 100 per cent it's hard to perform at a high level." Knee and ankle problems have left Carter hobbled over the past couple of seasons – and without their star, the Raptors have been reeling. However, Number 15 appears to be healthy again and though he doesn't take flight as often as he once did, his 360 slams and tomahawk jams always will draw in the viewers, and the voters. Vinsanity still reigns. "I can't explain it," said Carter. "Whatever I've done, I'm just going to keep doing it. "I guess the fans just want to see what's going to happen next. 'What's he going to do next?' That's one of the things I really enjoy doing – just keep people guessing, wondering what I'm going to do next. Maybe that's it. I really don't know what is the key ingredient." Carter's North Carolina teammate, Shammond Williams, may have found the answer. "He's a good individual first and foremost," said the Orlando Magic guard. "(Vince) has charisma. He's one of the elite players in the league (and) his athleticism allows him to excite the crowd a lot." The crowd in Los Angeles will get a chance to see Carter and the Eastern Conference All-Stars battle the best of the West on February 15. "Thank you to all the people who voted for me – once or twice or how ever many times they chose to vote," said Carter. "My gift to them is just coming out and representing them for not only All-Star Weekend, but throughout the rest of the season." Veteran radio personality Eric Smith hosts a variety of hoops programming on THE FAN 590, the radio home of the Toronto Raptors, including live Raptors pregame, halftime and postgame shows, as well as magazine show Hoops --

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