West Volusia feels the Magic

VINCE CARTER

Local fans excited about Vince Carter joining the team

By Jennifer Horton
BEACON STAFF WRITER

posted Jun 29, 2009 - 10:48:00pm

Professional basketball player and philanthropist Vince Carter, a 1995 graduate of Mainland High School in Daytona Beach, finally belongs to the local team — the Orlando Magic.

Born in Daytona Beach, Carter attended the University of North Carolina until he was drafted by the National Basketball Association in 1998. He has played with the Toronto Raptors and the New Jersey Nets, and has been an NBA All-Star for eight consecutive years.

Carter currently lives in Orlando, and does a great deal of charitable work throughout the Central Florida area. On June 25, the Magic traded for Carter in a five-player deal in the NBA draft.

Sports enthusiast and Downtown DeLand business owner Gus Gibbs was scouting players at the Vince Carter Basketball Camp when the news came in that Carter had been drafted by the

Magic. Carter was at the camp, coaching.

“It’s a great deal,” Gibbs said. “He’s happy, and the Magic will be happy. ... He was excited.”

“I think this does give them a chance to get back to the NBA finals next year,” said devoted basketball fan Jeff Shepherd, a Beacon columnist.

“He certainly is a great role model,” said Lt. Bobby Lambert, executive director of the West Volusia Police Athletic League (PAL), which has a basketball program for local youths. “He gives kids a lot of inspiration. ... There isn’t a young person who doesn’t know who Vince Carter is.”

Sports are big at Beef O’Brady’s in the West Volusia Regional Shopping Center.

General Manager Chad Dolyak echoed the sentiment: “I’m very excited.”

Dolyak said Carter’s joining the team will boost fan morale. DeLand High School Head Basketball Coach John Zeoli coached against Vince Carter. In fact, Zeoli said, in 1995, the year Mainland won the Class 6A state championship, the Mainland team’s only loss was to DeLand High.

“He was a great competitor,” Zeoli said. “He was always a class act. He carried himself well on and off the court, even as a young player.”

As an adult, Carter has remained connected to his community, sponsoring several scholarships and projects. Zeoli said this would serve to further inspire young people.

“It’s exciting any time a local kid makes it to the NBA,” he said. “Less than 1 percent of all of the players in the nation make it to the NBA. ... I think ticket sales for the VINCE CARTER

Magic games will go up. I know I will defi nitely attend more Magic games.”

“It’s pretty awesome,” said Rusty Hassell of DeLand, an avid sports fan.

As for the effect on the team, well, Hassell isn’t so sure about the Magic’s choice. “I don’t think it was the best trade,” Hassell said.

But he expects the Magic lineup to be dangerous. “It should be a good lineup to watch,” he said.

Christine Davenport, executive director of the North Coastal Division of the Children’s Home Society of Florida, spoke of Carter’s philanthropy.

“He is a strong role model,” Davenport said. “His donations help support programs for children who have been abused, neglected or abandoned. ... He has been an extremely positive local inflence on youth.”

The Vince Carter Embassy of Hope Foundation has contributed to more than 20 charities over the years, according to a list on the foundation’s Web site.

— jen@beacononlinenews.com

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