By Paul Madavi / Chicago IL

A lot of people are asking the question. People in Toronto are asking it for sure. What in the heck has happened to Vince Carter? You remember Vince Carter, right? Vince Carter, who would be in so many Sportcenter highlights that you swore he was playing more than one game a night. Vince Carter, who won the dunk championship in greater fashion than anyone (yes including Spudd Webb and Michael Jordan). Vince Carter, who was the next coming of Dominique Wilkens. Somehow, in just a few years, he has come and gone. Seems odd, right? Well, that's why people are asking what happened. In reality, it's a mix of things that took down, at least temporarily, this generation's Human Highlight Reel. And believe it or not, it all begins with an amazing playoff performance. . .

Let's go back. 2001 NBA Playoffs. Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Vince Carter had the performance of a lifetime. In 45 minutes he scored 50 points, grabbed 6 rebounds, and handed out 7 assists. Vince had 4 blocks as well. But what really made him performance (half-man half-)amazing was the 9 of 13 three-point shooting! A truly incredible performance by Vince Carter, and one that wind up ruining his game for a long time. The fact of the matter is that Vince Carter fell in love with something he had no business being around. It seems that once again, the three-point line has taken another player out of his game.

Let's think about it. What business does Vince have taking 13 shots from the three point line? For that matter, what business does he have taking anything from beyond 15 feet? Vince Carter could and probably can (once he heels up) again drive on anyone, at anytime and finish with authority, if not dish it to an open Antonio Davis, who will finish the play. If the interior collapses, Vince could kick it to one of the plethora of players available and signed specifically for taking jumpers. Imagine if Vince Carter attacked the basket the way Tracy McGrady or Jerry Stackhouse do! Imagine the points he'd rack up for his teams, and the fouls with which he'd burden his opponents. Vince Carter just isn't playing smart basketball. No, he'd much rather take a jumper.

And just to let you know I've done my homework and didn't pick Game 5 out of nowhere, let me give you some stats for his 2001-2002 season. Vince shot a reasonable 46% in 00-01. That was down the next year to 42.8% From three point land, his percentages fell from 40.8% to 38.7%. His defensive rebounds were down by .3 a game (hey it adds up), and his scoring was down 2.9 points a game. Roughly 1 out 4.5 shots that Vince's takes is a three-pointer. Furthermore, Vince is only shooting 40.1% from the field this year, and 26.5% from three-point land. His scoring is down to 18.4 points a game.

Why the decline in accuracy and production? Minutes account only for the numbers for the 02-03 season. It could also be (and this where I'm putting my money, folks) that NBA defenders are starting to understand that Carter much prefers taking the deep shot to driving to the basket. When guys are less than three feet off of you, it makes it that much harder to hit a jump shot. The further away from the basket you get, the harder it is to hit shots, the harder it is to shoot free throws, the harder it is to win. Romancing that three-point line is dangerous. Dan Marjele can tell you that, so can Nick Anderson, Dee Brown, Bryon Russell, Steve Smith (who used to have a post game), and countless other once-legitimate drivers who decided to sit in the back seat.

Vince Carter would be the most notable name to give in to the fool's gold. Let's hope he reverses the trend (and the dunk) and gets back to what made him a superstar.

Drive, young man, drive.