On the FanDuel-powered Run It Back show, former North Carolina Tar Heel Vince Carter reminisced about falling short of an NCAA title. The ferocious NBA 2000 Slam Dunk Champion recalled being ousted in the second round of the 1996 NCAA tournament by Mike Bibby and his Texas Tech Red Raiders. The Tar Heels were up at the half, but then Bibby took over the game. This memory remains deeply etched in Carter’s heart apart from one other huge moment by Darvin Ham.
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“Freakin’ Mike Bibby, my first year as a freshman goes crazy on us and we were up at half, you don’t forget that,” expressed Vince Carter.
Then the former high-flying scorer recalled falling short during the Final Four of the 1998 NCAA tournament. During the 1998 Final Four, Andre Miller had a triple-double, a performance which was paining Carter.
“And the second year, we lose to Utah and Andre Miller decides he wants to get a triple-double,” lamented the 1999 NBA Rookie of the Year.
Then Carter revealed that just a few days ago, he had talked to his former UNC teammate Antawn Jamison about their North Carolina Tar Heels run in the NCAA tournament. To envelope the conversation, Carter recalled the time when Bibby’s Red Raiders teammate Darvin Ham threw down a putback jam that shattered the glass. On March 17, the 28th anniversary of the backboard-destroying dunk, Ham changed the momentum of the game.
“Three days ago, it was the anniversary of Darvin Ham shattering the glass against us,” recalled Vince Carter while chuckling.
The Lakers head coach was the 1996 NCAA Slam Dunk champion and had serious hopes. The role player performed a huge part in one of the biggest turnarounds in NCAA history. Popular NBA YouTube channel Ryan Van Deusen posted the clip of this backboard-shattering jam.
Ham’s backboard-splintering putback dunk remains the most iconic moment in Red Raider’s history as it resulted in their maiden Sweet Sixteen appearance. Meanwhile, Carter’s NCAA championship hopes were once stalled by extraordinary moments like these. While VC does regret not having an NCAA finals trophy, he relished a solid career.
Vince Carter was pro-ready when he entered the league
In 103 games for Tar Heels, the 8x NBA All-Star tallied 12.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.1 steals, per game. The explosive guard wasn’t a volume shooter but was reliable on cuts and off-the-ball shooting. He was also a terrific defender both on the ball and off the ball.
Unsurprisingly, his soaring slam dunks also helped lift the team’s morale. Therefore, the SG/SF provided terrific two-way props for the coveted college program. In 2020, when the guard called his career, the official YT channel of the NCAA rolled out VC’s March Madness highlights.
He had an illustrious college career with multiple honors. During the 1996-97 NCAA season, the versatile guard made the All-ACC 3rd Team. Meanwhile, he made a huge leap during the 1997-98 season as NCAA named him in the Consensus All-America 2nd team. That season, he also made the All-ACC 1st team. Then he made the All-ACC 3rd Team for the second time in his NCAA career.
