NBA BASKETBALL |
Sept. 30, 2002 |
Exclusive Interview with Vince Carter about Rucker Park
By InsideHoops.com
Vince Carter has played streetball with the Entertainer's
Basketball Classic at Rucker Park - once at the actual park, and once indoors
at a nearby gym, due to rain. That latter time, he threw down a legendary dunk that
has been simulated in television commercials. In this play, Carter was running the
break and filling the lane, and caught an alley-oop pass - but instead of just dunking
it straight away, he pulled the ball down in mid-air and then brought it back up to throw down
one of the sickest dunks ever. Inside Hoops recorded this interview late in the 2001-02
season, and waited for a rainy day to post it.
InsideHoops.com: Talk about what brought you out to Rucker
Park, what you knew about the park, how it all went
down...
Vince Carter: Well, the best streetball players to ever play come out there, even
the best NBA players and all that. You got a lot of tradition out there. It's
just fun. It's just something where I wanted to say, "yeah, I played."
InsideHoops.com: And what else did you know about the park?
Vince Carter: What you hear. What you know. If you're a basketball player nowdays,
and even when I was growing up you still knew about it, you still hear about it.
Some of my friends... when I play in different all-star games and camps, everybody
talks about it. So, I had been thinking about it.
InsideHoops.com: And did they call you, or did you call them?
Vince Carter: I was asked to play. Actually, the first time I was asked to play,
but the second time I was out doing a photo shoot in New York, and they asked
me to play...
InsideHoops.com: Which was the time when you threw down the...
Vince Carter: Second time...
InsideHoops.com: The second time was when the game moved indoors and you threw
down the dunk we all WISH we could do...
Vince Carter: (laughing a bit) yeah....
InsideHoops.com: Cool, thanks.
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