“You hear a ball bouncing, you gotta see what’s going on” - Vince Carter gives surprise reason for his insane vertical
Vince Carter is considered one of the greatest dunkers and high flyers in NBA history. Carter has a collection of highlights that defied gravity. It's one of the reasons why he had the nickname "Half-Man/Half-Amazing," but what was the secret behind his insane vertical?
On "The VC Show," Carter had Philadelphia 76ers coach Doc Rivers as his guest. Rivers recalled how he learned that Carter was a great volleyball player in high school in Florida. The story even shocked co-host Ros Gold-Onwude.
"I went to watch my daughter play volleyball," Rivers said. "I'm sitting in the gym in DeLand, and I'm looking around, and I see these banners. Men's high school volleyball champion year after year after year. And I'm like, 'I didn't even know they had a men's program in Florida for volleyball.'"
He continued:
"This older black guy was sitting next to me, and I asked him, 'What's this about?' He said, 'You don't know, brother?' And I said, 'No.' And he's like, 'This is Vince Carter. Vince Carter was the greatest volleyball player to ever play in Florida.'"
Carter went on to explain how he tried out for his high school volleyball varsity team on a bet. He made the team and played for four years. He won 'Player of the Year' in his junior year. He also revealed that playing volleyball was the secret to his leaping ability.
"I walked into my gym, my high school gym one day," Carter said. "Obviously, as a basketball player, you hear a ball bouncing, you gotta see what's going on. Well, it was volleyball tryouts."
He continued:
"I ended up making the team, playing on the team for four years. I won Player of the Year my junior year in volleyball and all that. Volleyball just helped me. Everybody's like, 'You're leaping. How did that become?' It was because of volleyball."
Vince Carter playing volleyball for Mainland High School. (1993)
Carter was named volleyball Conference Player of the Year in 1994. https://t.co/cB4wx3OTyu
Vince Carter's storied NBA career
Vince Carter was drafted fifth overall by the Golden State Warriors in 1998. However, Carter was traded to the Toronto Raptors for Antawn Jamison. He became a legend in Toronto, becoming a five-time All-Star up north. He also cemented himself as one of the best dunkers in NBA history while he was there.
Carter was traded to the New Jersey Nets midway through the 2004-05 season. He spent four and a half seasons in New Jersey before being dealt to the Orlando Magic in 2009. He then bounced around the league, playing for teams such as the Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks, Memphis Grizzlies, Sacramento Kings and Atlanta Hawks.
"V.C" is the only player in NBA history to play 22 seasons. He's also the only player to appear in an NBA game in four decades, making his debut in 1999 and playing his final game in 2020. He's also one of the main reasons why basketball has become popular in Canada.
Carter is expected to become a Hall of Famer. He has scored more than 25,000 points in his career. He's an eight-time All-Star, the 1999 Rookie of the Year, one-time All-NBA First Team and one-time All-NBA Second Team. He also won the 2000 Slam Dunk Contest.