The Way I See It
I think you can stop holding your breath for Miami Heat roster candidate Anthony Carter. Carter making
most of tryout
with HeatAfter last night's Heat win over Atlanta, the former Hawaii guard seems to have the backup point guard job all but sewn up.
During a 13-minute span in the first half, the 6-foot-2 Carter had four points, five assists, two rebounds, and three steals to rally the Heat from a five-point deficit
In 24 minutes of play, Carter had six points, six assists and four steals.
This comes three days after the free-agent rookie started for Tim Hardaway (back spasms) in a loss to Orlando and came away with a team-high 15 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and three steals in 26 minutes.
It will be a major surprise if Carter does not get the nod over his major rival, Rex Walters, to play behind Hardaway.
And while Carter is legitimizing himself in Florida, former Iolani running back Joe Igber is continuing to stun the Pac-10.
He is tied for the third best rushing average in the conference after his second straight 100-yard game for Cal.
Igber, a 5-foot-7, 190-pound true freshman who is Hawaii's all-time leading prep rusher, is averaging 5.93 yards per carry.
He and Arizona's more celebrated Trung Canidate have the same average. But Igber has less total yardage because he has only been a starter for the past two games.
Canidate is 146 for 866 while Igber is 60 for 356.
Igber is attracting a lot of attention around the Berkeley campus these days, and not just because he's a stunning freshman.
Word is out that he is an unusually gifted student as well. He gained a 4.0 grade-point average during the summer when he elected to lighten his fall load by taking two courses. He plans to be an architect or engineer.
Igber is returning the term, "student-athlete" to its original meaning in the NCAA.
And it's a bonus to know Igber's much bigger teammate, former Farrington High all-stater Josh White, made a spectacular 62-yard run in last weekend's win at UCLA.
I hope somebody in the NFL took note.
If you recall, White, who starts at fullback, has no sight in his left eye.
He hasn't known what it's like to see out of both eyes since he tripped and fell on a sharp toy as a 1-year-old.
Everything White accomplishes represents a triumph of the human spirit over adversity.
The San Francisco Examiner reported that the 6-4, 240-pounder "broke or ran through four tackles" during his long gain.
White doesn't consider himself handicapped. And that's why he's not afraid to discuss his eye.
In 1997, when the coaches at Cal and Arizona State were trying to recruit him out of Snow College (Utah), he raised the issue without being asked.
"You guys know I'm blind in my left eye, right?" he told them.
"And they said, 'And ... your point is?' They still wanted me. That's great but I wanted everything to be on the table."
Pat Bigold has covered sports for daily newspapers
in Hawaii and Massachusetts since 1978.
