Vinsanity in town! Vince Carter leads annual camp at Mainland ahead of HOF induction

DAYTONA BEACH — Vince Carter started doing this before he became internationally famous.

This began before the 1998 NBA Draft and his league-record 22-year career. Before the 2000 dunk contest and his eight All-Star selections. And well before the hall of fame inductions — he’ll be enshrined in the Florida Sports Hall of Fame this fall.

Carter was still a student-athlete at the University of North Carolina the first time he led a basketball camp at Mainland High School in the late 1990s. The event didn’t feature his name. It was titled after his high school coach, Charles Brinkerhoff.

More than 25 years later, Carter returned to his alma mater again this week for the annual Vince Carter Youth Basketball Academy camp, which wraps up Sunday. It drew 141 attendees between the ages of 7 and 17.

“I enjoy doing camps,” Carter said. “I enjoy working with kids. I enjoy trying to teach them life skills and values … We've been doing it so long, it’s kind of a part of my schedule, for one. And it’s just something I feel I’m supposed to do.”

The 46-year-old has kept a few other things on his schedule since retiring from the NBA in 2020. In addition to his camp and working on his “pretty good” golf game, he serves as a basketball analyst for ESPN.

Then, there’s that upcoming date with the state sports hall.

Vince Carter has at least one hall of fame induction in the near future

Next year could be the big one.

Because Carter will be four years removed from his playing career, he’ll be eligible for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame for the first time. Basketball Reference’s probability model gives him a 94.6% chance to go in.

But the Florida Sports Hall of Fame, which Carter will enter during a Nov. 8 ceremony in Jacksonville, caught him off guard and brought him to tears.

“It was one of the coolest things,” he said. “I don’t care what level it’s on. It could be a local hall of fame to the basketball hall of fame. The fact that I was nominated by friends and peers means a lot to me. It hit home. I was very appreciative.”

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The Florida Sports Hall of Fame inductees are voted on by its board of directors and select members. Carter learned of the accolade via email in June.

He’ll be inducted as part of an eight-person class that also includes Tom Coughlin and LeRoy Butler.

'Yo, it's just Vince'

The Vince Carter Youth Basketball Academy is a family affair. Six of Carter’s relatives came to Mainland for the event. His mother helps run the show every year. This summer, his son was a camper.

Many of the coaches also return year after year and preach the same things.

“We just want these kids to take something away from this camp every year and learn,” Carter said. “I tell the kids every year: This is not an elite camp where your goal is to come out of here the best player in camp. This is more so a skills camp where you can learn basketball skills and life skills. Those two are so important. I think they work hand-in-hand.”

The instructors provide drills that players can do on their own or with their parents after the four-day session ends. They also emphasize manners like saying please and thank you as much as crossovers and jump shots.

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Carter roams between each group and emcees the camp. He remains its main attraction, even for the kids too young to remember him as a star player.

“Some kids do and some kids don’t view me on a pedestal,” he said. “The kids who have been here multiple years understand, ‘Yo, it’s just Vince. He’s cool. He has fun. He laughs and talks to us. He jokes with us, but he yells at us and gives it to us straight. We can ask him questions, and he tells us stories.’ ”

One camper, about 10 years old, asked Carter if he played against Memphis Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant.

“I was like, ‘Yeah, yeah, I did. How old do you think I am?’ ” Carter said.

Later, as Carter directed groups to different stations, the same kid paused as he walked past the former pro. He looked down at Carter’s feet.

“Wait, you have your own signature shoe?” the child asked.

“Yeah, of course,” Carter said before cracking a grin.

Just another cool honor in his ever-growing collection.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Vince Carter hosts Mainland camp before Florida Sports HOF induction