We’re on a Wired deadline this afternoon, so we’re gonna outro early with a classic hoops clip: a young Vince Carter absolutely posterizing French center/stiff Frédéric Weis. Yes, we realize you’ve seen it before; trust us, it’s worth a second (or tenth) look, if only for the confused expression on Weis’s face at the end of the play. And the French commentators’ reaction is pretty nifty, too.
To be honest, we do feel a bit bad for Weis, who’s name is now synonymous with terrible NBA drafting. According to Weis, it was injuries rather than lack of talent that kept him from pursuing his NBA dreams. We’d be curious to know Vince Carter’s thoughts on the matter.
yancey // Jul 9, 2009 at 3:01 pm
the most shocking thing about this clip is that vin baker was ever on a national team
Brendan I. Koerner // Jul 9, 2009 at 3:04 pm
@yancey: You read my mind. Was going to mention that in the post, but for some odd reason I decided not to. In retrospect, big mistake.
If memory serves, wasn’t Baker’s career done in by alcoholism? I remember he had a couple of really solid years, then went to Seattle to replace Sean Kemp. Think it was all downhill from there.
Gramsci // Jul 9, 2009 at 6:42 pm
Like some other dunk oenologists I think ’95 was an unappreciated Carter year. Bright, vibrant finish…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFJHsaqkGbI
Brendan I. Koerner // Jul 9, 2009 at 7:35 pm
@Gramsci: Wow, that was enjoyable. Thanks for passing along.
Of course, I have to wonder–how must Kris Clack be feeling nowadays? Def. the odd man out in that trio, in terms of professional success. As far as I can tell, he wound up in the D-league.
Gramsci // Jul 10, 2009 at 1:57 am
Yeah, not good when you remind more people of an Edwidge Danticat novel than an NBA star.
buskertype // Jul 13, 2009 at 12:42 pm
I’m pretty ignorant about basketball, so someone enlighten me… why isn’t that charging? Is it just too awesome to call?
Brendan I. Koerner // Jul 13, 2009 at 12:50 pm
@buskertype: FIBA rules state that charging is called only when player pushes or moves into defender’s torso. Contact here is just a graze on the head–minor contact, not sufficient to make the call.
FIBA refs apparently call a looser game than their NBA counterparts. But I don’t think this would be a charge in the NBA, either.