So everyones heard of the monster dunk Tracy did at the Adidas ABCD camp but do we know what it
was exactly? well it went somthin like this... McGrady was dribbling down the left wing against the 6-9
James Felton, considered among the top prospects in camp. With a quick move to the basket, the 6-8
McGrady cupped the ball with his right hand and arm, brought it down near his waist and slammed it
through as if he were trying to tear down a helicopter.

    "I was trying to put on a show. After I made that dunk, I had chills run through my body. It's like the
moment I knew I had finally arrived." Tracy says. "It was unbelievable," said Providence assistant Bob
Gonzalez, one of the top scouts in the country. "The whole camp stopped. It was like a moment in time
when everything stood still. Most of the time, guys are well known by all the gurus. He was like a freak.
Nobody had him on any list. He comes out, and he's just killing guys." "It was a spectacular dunk,"
McGrady said. "That dunk right there, the college scouts knew (then) who Tracy McGrady was." Felton
signed with St. John's.

    Alvis Smith, McGrady's former AAU coach and now an Adidas representative, plans to stay with
McGrady during the season. "That lets me know I'll always have somebody that's going to be on my back
and not let me do the wrong things," McGrady said. "If this is what it takes for me to be successful in the
league, I have no problem with that." (one place I read said he was a family friend and one place said he's
his cousin and the place I got that part from says he's "McGrady's former AAU coach and now an Adidas
representative" so ??) And also Obey Maldonado, a friend who moved to Toronto to live with him during
his rookie year. "I just needed somebody to keep me company," says McGrady of his 19-year-old buddy.
"If he wasn't up there, it would just be like living in a hotel - by myself."

    "Where do I feel most comfortable? I feel the two or three are the best positions but hopefully I can run
the point a little bit, take over a little from Damon. "I've got all the tools to play in the NBA. I'm 6-8, I can
play outside and I can run the point; I can't wait to get out on the floor and face my idol, Penny
(Hardaway)."

    Tips from the other high schoolers goin pro.. "Kobe (Bryant) is one of my best friends and he told me there
are going to be times when I feel down because I'm not playing much. He told me to stay focused because
my day will come." ... "Jermaine O'Neal told me there were going to be some older guys not that happy to
see you taking a job, and some coaches, too," Tracy said. "He told me that the coach might not think
you're ready and might not play you, that you have to be ready for the upfalls and the downfalls.... That's
the only thing I'm scared of -- having a big downfall and losing my focus." ... "The thing that I really have
to get ready for is the physical pounding, and the only thing that really scares me is the need to stay
focused."

    "Tracy McGrady was just out in LA with me, stayed at my house for a couple weeks," Says Kobe Bryant.
"He was supossed to stay at a hotel. One night, he was at my house and my mother was cooking dinner.
We were just hanging out, having a good time. Next thing i knew, he was at my house for the next two
weeks. It was as if we were related."Kobe likes Karate movies and introduced Tracy to karate movies,
Now Tracy is a karate-movie junkie!!

    Kobe and Tracy seemed to hit it off real fast. AND Both of them were supossed to be in the Slam Dunk
contest but NO the NBA had to go off and be retarted this year.. "I think it's going to be back eventually,"
said Bryant, last season's dunk king. "It'll be back, bigger and better than ever." says Tracy, "In my heart,
I really think they'll bring it back." Does he feel cheated out of an opportunity to compete in it? "No, not at
all," he said. "But since we have some young guys that really can create on some dunks, it would be nice if
they'd bring it back." If that happened, who would McGrady's biggest competition be? "Kobe, of course,"
the 18-year-old said with a boyish smile. (heehee I love that line!!)

    McGrady is averaging just 4.8 points and 2.7 rebounds in his rookie season for Toronto. But he looks at
Bryant's rookie year -- when Bryant averaged 7.6 points per game -- and realizes how much a player can
grow over the summer.

    "Most definitely I can see myself being in that position in a year from now, being in the All-Star Game,"
McGrady said. "Of course, there would have to be a lot of hard work and I understand the things Kobe
did this summer. He worked his butt off."

    "Kobe's rookie season wasn't really that good," said McGrady. "He was struggling and frustrated and this
year he really showed he was coming back and he could be somebody and now is a top player as an
All-Star."

    So Tracy, what do ya do to get ready for a game?? "I watch a lot of Jordan highlight film. That gets me
ready to play. If I dont watch any basketball I'll get nervous. But by watching Michael doing spectacular
things, that hypes my up and gets me ready to play" He's a fan of Jordan. "He's just so smooth. I just
want to be on the court with him, see how he moves. I just want to see that with my own eyes. Boy! . . .
Whew! . . . M.J."

    As a 12-year-old Little Leaguer, townsfolk say, McGrady would sometimes step up to the plate, point to
one of the outfield fences and crank a homer over it. Just like the legend of Babe Ruth. "When he was on
that ballfield, he was in charge," says Cathy Hester, whose son played with McGrady. Some Auburndale
coaches and pals are certain McGrady could have played major league baseball. "If he had stayed with
baseball, he would have been a first-round draft choice," maintains Obey Maldonado (his buddy who lived
with him remember?)

                                         High School

    Tracy went to Mount Zion Christion Accadamy because he was suspended from his old scool for a
problem with a teacher. It was kinda strict at Mount Zion, no personal tvs, no earings, no girlfriends no
rap....   he called it a "Christian Boot Camp". He says "I was listening to how the program was run and I
was thinking to myself, 'I don't know if I can do this because I was back at home wearing earrings and I
wasn't going to church.' I was just doing my thing, I couldn't really adjust to it at first." "I was crying for a
month, but I got the hang of it, Everything turned out well."
"If I didn't come to Mount Zion, I might still be getting into trouble somewhere back in Florida,"
McGrady said. "I was doing the wrong things a lot of times, and with the wrong people."
 On the Day Tracy was drafted he donated $300,000 to Mount Zion. "I always felt that if I was
going to make all this money right out of high school, I couldn't forget Mt. Zion," he said on draft night.
"They really helped me get the discipline I need. I wasn't disciplined or mature enough before I went there.
I know I couldn't have done this without Mt. Zion."
"I was all set to commit to Kentucky, I had a really nice visit there," he says. "I met with Derek
Anderson (who was eventually chosen four picks after McGrady) and Ron Mercer (who went sixth
overall). But one of the reasons I held back on my commitment was because they were both going to
come out. It's kind of funny, isn't it? I had no idea back then about Rick (Pitino) leaving (to coach the
Celtics) but I've wondered since about whether he'd still be there if I had committed."

         "I became a Christian once I got here, and I'm not saying I'm perfect, but I
                                    started changing in positive ways........"

    Joe Hopkins, Tracys coach from Mount Zion Christain Academy was/is a big part of Tracys life. "I wasn't
bad because I've never been in trouble with the law, but I didn't have respect for people." Tracy says of
his life before meeting Joe. After meeting him he learned about respect for others, himself and for the
game of basketball. he got up each morning at 4:30am, went to class with a tie, went to prayer meetings
and lived at Joe Hopkins' house with the other members of the Mount Zion basketball team. "He's my
backbone," Tracy says. "If it weren't for Coach Hopkins, none of this would be possible. He's definitely a
good businessman and he'd never take advantage of me."
 
                                   Stuff Other People Say

    Stephon Marbury on Tracy goin pro outta HS: "I think it's going to be a different experience, but
everybody's different and looks at things differently. I thought coming to the NBA after a freshman year
was hard -- playing in the NBA isn't easy at all, but if he thinks he can make the adjustment, that's what he
should do."
 
                                   All Star '98 Rookie Game

    QUIT ACTING LIKE A KID: Raptors rookie Tracy McGrady was bo like, well, an 18-year-old
yesterday. "I don't care how I got there, but now that I'm there I'm going to have a good time," said
McGrady, who learned on Monday he had been added to the Eastern Conference squad for the rookie
all-star game Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York. McGrady is replacing injured Cavalier
Derek Anderson, one of four Cleveland players on the original eight-man Eastern squad. But McGrady
claims he never felt insulted. "It's just because I haven't played enough minutes," McGrady said. The
Raptors don't have many traditions, but they do have a tradition of stellar performances in the rookie
all-star game. Stoudamire was the MVP of the 1996 game in San Antonio, while Marcus Camby narrowly
lost out to Eastern teammate Allen Iverson a year ago in Cleveland. "If I were Tracy, I don't know if I
would have gone as a replacement," Camby said yesterday. "But it'll be good for him in terms of
exposure." --Slam basketball Raptors so did this all happen to fast? "I can't answer that," McGrady said. "What I can say is this: If you're able to play in the NBA, somebody is going to pick you, like Isiah. I'm really glad I'm in Toronto. I think I'm
going to love it."