A soaring superhero has finally come back to earth. Vince Carter, human highlight reel for his first two years—and simply human the next two—has reinvented himself as a different kind of star. No longer looking to please the crowd, and tired of living up to the legacy left by a certain fellow-Tar Heel, he has turned his attention to the mundane work of winning basketball games for the New Jersey Nets. The irony is, just when everyone had stopped calling him the “Next MJ,” Vince has an opportunity to be truly Jordan-esque. This is his story…

GROWING UP Vincent Lamont Carter, Jr. was born on January 26, 1977, in Daytona Beach, Florida. He was the first of two boys born to Michelle and Vince Carter, Sr. Michelle, was a teacher. Vince’s stepfather, Harry Robinson, was a teacher, too. Vince’s natural father, Vince Sr., left the family when Vince was in second grade, and they had little contact thereafter. When Vince thinks “Dad,” he thinks Harry.

Vince picked up his first basketball at the age of two. He was obsessed with the game, and idolized J ulius Erving. He marveled at the Doctor’s ability to lift off and hang in the air a half-beat longer than anyone else on the court. He copied Dr. J’s moves when he practiced on the playground, imaging himself soaring to the hoop with perfect body control. His moves were so wild that his friends nicknamed him UFO.

Vince attended Daytona Beach’s Mainland High School and was the star of the freshman hoops team in 1991-92. He was double-teamed constantly, which frustrated him to no end. Once, on a drive to the basket, he left his feet earlier than he planned and rose to the rim. Vince was prepared to toss up a floater or flick in a finger roll, but to his amazement he kept going as the defenders descended and pulled off an amazing dunk. The other nine players on the court stood in slack-jawed awe. The referees had to remind everyone that there was a game going on.

Vince had a busy senior year. He maintained a solid 3.0 average, led the Mainland marching band and wrote its halftime music. He was also the most heavily recruited hoopster in Florida. After leading the Buccaneers into some of the country’s most prestigious high school tourneys—and being named Florida’s “Mr. Basketball”—he confounded the experts who predicted he would attend Florida or Florida State and chose North Carolina.

UNC finished the regular season with just one loss. The Heels rolled to their second straight championship in the ACC Tournament, and were awarded a number-one seed in the NCAA Tournament.Carolina blew out Navy in the first round, but needed big games from Vince in nail-biting wins over UNC-Charlotte and Michigan State. Vince flashed his defensive prowess in a win over UConn, shutting down Rip Hamilton and helping UNC reach the Final Four again. The Tar Heels came out flat against Utah in the national semifinal and found themselves on the short end of a double-digit lead. Vince tried to spark a second-half comeback but the Utes hung tough for the upset. The loss left a bad taste in Vince’s mouth. Suddenly he was rethinking his NBA plans. He wanted the national championship in the worst way, and was planning to stay for his senior year. But when Jamison declared for the draft, Vince had flashbacks to the triple-teams he faced in high school and suddenly a fourth year at Chapel Hill seemed less appealing. It was difficult choice for Vince, who was a class or two away from fulfilling his major in Afro-American Studies, and who really enjoyed campus life. He went to Guthridge, Smith and his parents for advice, half hoping they would tell him to stay in school. All were in agreement—it was time to go pro.

A pair of big men, Michael Olowokandi and Raef LaFrentz, and point guard Mike Bibby figured to get snapped up with the first three picks in the 1998 NBA Draft. The Golden State Warriors owned the fourth pick, and were in the market for a high-scoring forward. It was a toss-up between Vince and Jamison, and in the end the Warriors selected Vince. The Toronto Raptors, picking next, felt Vince was the superior player. GM Greg Grunwald, knowing the Warriors were strapped for cash, picked Jamison and then packaged him with a half-million dollars in exchange for Vince. The Warriors took the deal, and Vince was a Raptor. He was happy to go to Toronto, where he would get to play with McGrady, whom the Raptors had drafted the previous spring.

All the signs are there that Vince is ready to reach a new level. His passing has improved greatly, and he is much better about dribbling into traps. On defense, he is now above average—a testament to his commitment and experience.