M. Basketball: Jamison, Carter relive college

It didn’t take long for two of North Carolina’s best players and best friends to fall right back into old habits.

Less than five minutes into Friday’s alumni game, late 1990s teammates Vince Carter and Antawn Jamison had already combined to score all of the game’s points, and Carter was eyeing another 3-pointer.

When his attempt fell short — potentially because of some contact from his old teammate — Carter chased Jamison back down the court aiming playful kicks at him.

The two were at it all night — bumping in the post, calling for each other to play defense and trash-talking in between free throws.

“We’re 32, 33 years old, and we’re acting like we’re kids out there, like it’s 12, 13 years ago,” Jamison said. “Just enjoying the moment, having fun.”

While the professional alumni game featured a white team and a blue team (the white team won, 113-92), it was really the individual matchups and reunions that captured the crowd’s attention. That, and Carter’s gravity-defying dunks.

Jamison dropped in 21 points for the white side, while Carter answered with 18 of his own and an aerial highlight reel.

With just seconds remaining in the first half, the blue team’s Ty Lawson ripped a steal and led a three-on-zero break the other way. He dropped it off to Shammond Williams, who tossed the ball off the backboard for Carter to catch, windmill, and slam home with two hands, setting off the Smith Center crowd.

“Shammond Williams, I thought, ‘My gosh, he’s throwing the basketball off the backboard, and he’s going to try and dunk it,’” said coach Roy Williams, who watched from the scorers’ table.

“But then I realized there’s a guy named Carter flying through the air behind him. That was pretty special.”

Friday night provided answers to some questions North Carolina fans had been wondering about for years. What would happen if Raymond Felton and Ty Lawson guarded each other?

Midway through the first half, Felton dribbled on the wing, then crossed over his defender and blew by for an easy layup. The very next possession, Lawson answered with the exact same move at Felton’s expense for a bucket of his own.

The younger Lawson said he’s been learning from Felton.

“He showed me a couple tricks that the vets do, you know, pulling your jersey, pulling your arm, and just stuff like that,” Lawson said. “He just showed me a lot of things, told me to be ready for the rookie hazing.”

There was a level of competition to the game — there were bragging rights at stake, of course — but ultimately it was a unique brand of an all-star game. Lots of stars, lots of scoring, lots of laughs — only both teams wore the same colors.

“It brought back so many feelings and memories for me,” Carter said. “Walking in, just seeing the loyalty.

“When you get into the professional life, the NBA, sometimes it’s up and down when you win or lose; sometimes the home town’s not behind you. But it’s die-hard here. They love Carolina basketball. They love what it’s about. I love what it’s about.”


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