|
 |   |
|
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Multimedia Central Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities Work in Sports
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE |  |
Young gun Toronto's McGrady proves he belongs in NBA
Posted: Tuesday March 21, 2000 08:39 PM
TORONTO (CNNSI.com) -- Tracy McGrady's star has risen steadily since he was drafted directly out of high school in 1997. He's gone from averaging just seven points a game in sparse minutes his rookie year to being the Raptors' second leading scorer, behind Vince Carter. "My first season, I didn't feel like I belonged in the NBA," said McGrady, who plays guard. "I thought I was on my way out. I thought it was too hard. But now I feel like a superstar. I feel like an All-Star." You won't get an argument from his coach. "I think without a doubt he's the best all-around young player in the league," Butch Carter said. "I've told people he's the best 20-year-old player in the world, easily."
The man who many believe is the best 23-year-old player in the world says he spends a lot of time trying to build up the younger star. "I think he's understanding how important he is," said Vince Carter. "I mean, I say it to him all the time, but until he believes it, it won't happen." While McGrady's talent has always been apparent, so has his tendency to act, well, his age at times. He's been criticized for pouting on the court and for shooting both the ball, and his mouth off, too much. Carter the coach said McGrady's body language said it all.
"It was from the fact that the kid never went to college. Tracy didn't understand. He didn't understand until he looked at it on film. Then he could see, "OK, this is unacceptable behavior because whatever I'm thinking, it's showing through my body.'" "It's all a part of growing up," said forward Antonio Davis. "He's not complaining as much, he's not taking as bad of shots, so that's what you look for." And so this young superstar-in-the-making came to realize that hard work might make a difference in the long run. "I was just thinking what if I practiced hard, what if I came in after back-to-backs and gave a hard practice -- would my game change?," McGrady said It has. After beginning the season as the Raptors' sixth man, coach Carter recently moved McGrady into the starting lineup. He's picked up his rebounding dramatically, and Carter says McGrady is a triple-double-type of player. But questions remain about whether McGrady will stay in Toronto. He'll be a highly sought-after free agent after this season. And while a new team can't offer him more money than the Raptors can, it could offer something else: the chance to escape the shadow of his cousin Vince Carter. "There's going to come a time where I want to have my own team and I want to be the man," McGrady said. "But in a situation where me and Vince are like [Michael] Jordan and [Scottie] Pippen, both of them were the man. If that is the case, then I can accept that."
Coach Carter has an answer for that one. "I think in Tracy's mind he's going to make [such] an improvement that somebody's going to be second fiddle to him. Now if Tracy improves so much that Vince Carter is second to him, that would be unbelievable," Butch Carter said with a laugh. But for now, the Raptors just hope McGrady's new starting role and continued development result in the first playoff appearance in franchise history.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
