BY HIS MOTHER

Growing Up

Antawn's father and I ran a very strict household when Antawn was growing up. We weren't mean, but we
were very strict. He'll be the first to tell you. We've always been a very religious family - we made sure
he was in church every Sunday.

Antawn was a very big kid growing up. He was always the tallest kid in his class and usually
one of the skinniest. He was a very fat baby though! He was so chubby. When he was
about three he thinned out and has been skinny since then. He probably hit his first big
growth spurt when he was 12 years old. When he was in the ninth grade, he really
started growing.

People might not know this, but Antawn is a major junk food addict! He was and is always still eating
junk food. He used to get candy, cookies and honey buns and hide them in his room under his
bed. (Eating junk food) That was his only hobby other than playing basketball. He always stayed out
of trouble. He never got into any fights with anyone other than his sister. I don't really remember,
but she'll tell you that Twan used to hit her for nothing. She said that she was always getting the
beating for something that Antawn always started.

He's always been very mature and mannerable. We always taught him to say 'yes sir'and 'yes maam.'
I'm proud to say that he listened to us and that he still uses good manners. He always wanted to play
basketball growing up. I can remember when he was two or three years old, he had one of those little
adjustable basketball goals with the little styrofoam balls and was always playing with it more than
anything else. He's always had a basketball goal of some kind around - out in the yard or in the
house. When he got up to Quail Hollow, he played football. He was a quarterback there for about
two years. He really enjoyed it. His team did okay, but they did much better in basketball.

He attended high school at Providence High, in Charlotte, NC. I think he had a pretty good time
in high school. He was always the center of attention. I think it may have bothered his high
school girlfriends sometimes, but he seemed to enjoy it.

Antawn wasn't really in many clubs growing up that I can remember. He was just always
really interested in playing basketball. I can't think of any really memorable games that
Antawn played in high school because I didn't attend a single one of them. I couldn't go.
The games made me nervous and my stomach queasy and I couldn't stand it. Antawn's
father went to every one of them and recorded them. When he got home from the game,
I would always watch them on tape.

He started getting major interests from colleges to play basketball when he was a sophomore in high school. He had boxes and boxes of letters from colleges that were interested in him. I really didn't know much about the schools that were interested in him so its tough to say I had a preference for any particular college I wanted him to attend.

I just wanted to make sure that Antawn got a good education and that the school he chose would assure that. I also wanted him to be happy and as long as he was happy, I'd be happy for him. After Dean Smith came to visit and talk to us - Antawn really knew that he wanted to go to UNC and play for him. After we spoke with Coach Smith, we knew that he was the kind of coach that Antawn needed. It couldn't have been a better fit!

Antwan never thought about going straight from high school to the pros, not even once. His father and I weren't having it! We've always stressed education first. When he eventually went on to college and left early for the pros, he promised us that he would come back and get his diploma. We knew that if he gave us his word that he would not let us down.

I think that Antawn handled his transition from high school to college very well, on the court. Off the court, he handled it well as long as we visited him frequently. He's always been a really family oriented type of guy and I could tell that he really missed us and being home. I think that when we came to visit and then when he got a girlfriend that things got easier for him. He handled it all very well in my opinion. He even did his own laundry. Occasionally. he would bring some home when he got the chance, but for the most part, he did it all himself.

By the time he got to UNC, I was able to go to see him play. If I couldn't see him play, I wouldn't miss watching him on television. We went to just about all of the weekend games but couldn't make many games during the week because Antawn's brother and sister were still in school.

We were excited to go and see Antawn play in the Final Four both times and we all had a very good time.

UNC

Antawn's collegiate career was one of the most successful in NCAA history. His team finished with a 21-11 overall record and third in the ACC with a 10-6 mark. Antawn became the first Tar Heel and only the fifth player in league history to be named first-team All-ACC as a freshman. The season was highlighted by an overtime win at Maryland, a 20-rebound performance at Virginia by Antwan and remarkable comeback victories at home over Wake Forest and Duke. Carolina also won at Duke's Cameron Indoor Stadium for the third consecutive year.

Antawn's sophomore year was uniquely special. The team opened up the season with three consecutive losses, but regrouped to finish 11-5 in the conference and finished in a tie for second place with favorite, Wake Forest. Carolina won all eight of its games in February and earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament after winning the ACC Tournament tile. Antawn earned All-America and first-team All-ACC honors as he led the team with 19.1 points and 9.4 rebounds per game.

The Tar Heels went into the ACC Tournament as the No. 3 seed, but knocked off Virginia, Wake Forest and NC State to earn the school's 14th title. The Tar Heels swept through the NCAA East Regional final at Syracuse by 23 points in the regional final at Syracuse. During that season, Coach Smith became the winningest coach in Division I college basketball history with his 877th win. That came in the second round of the 1997 NCAA Tournament, a 73-56 win over Colorado.

Just prior to Antawn's junior year, Coach Smith shocked the sports world by announcing his resignation as Carolina's head coach on October 9, 1997. He turned the team over to longtime assistant Bill Guthridge. Coach Guthridge picked up right where Coach Smith left off. Coach "Gut" became the winningest first-year head coach in NCAA history as he directed the Tar Heels to a 34-4 record, ACC Tournament title, NCAA Regional crown, Final Four berth and No.1 ranking in the final Associated Press poll.

UNC was led by Antawn who was the consensus National Player of the Year. He led the team in scoring with 22.2 points per game and rebounding with 10.5 per game. Antawn became the third player in ACC history - with UNC's Lennie Rosenbluth in 1957 and Duke's Christian Laettner in 1992 - to be named ACC Player of the Year, ACC Tournament MVP, and NCAA Regional Player of the Year all in the same season. Antawn finished his career as fourth all-time rebounder with 1, 027 and seventh in scoring with 1,974 points. Antawn also set a single-season record as a junior with 316 field goals and 389 rebounds and scored 822, second only to Rosenbluth's 895 in 1957. Antawn became the first player in ACC history to be named first-team All-ACC in his freshman, sophomore, and junior seasons.

Twice UNC defeated No. 1 ranked Duke. Those wins gave Carolina nine all-time wins over No.1 ranked teams, matching Notre Dame for the most wins over the nation's top ranked programs. The first UNC win over Duke was a 97-73 decision on Feb.5, 1998, and was only the second meeting between the two schools in which the teams were ranked 1-2 in the nation. The second win over the Blue Devils came in the ACC Tournament final. Antawn had 35 points and 11 rebounds in the regular-season game and 22 points and 18 rebounds in the ACC championship game.

Following the season, Antawn and fellow first-team All-ACC selection Vince Carter announced their decision to enter the NBA Draft after their junior seasons. Antawn was the fourth player selected in the first round and Carter was picked up next. The two players were then traded for each other and Antawn ended up with the Golden State Warriors and Carter with the Toronto Raptors.

NBA
When Antwan was drafted fourth by the Toronto Raptors, I was a little disappointed because I wanted him to be closer. He was also upset because he wanted to be closer too. Then when he got traded to Golden State, we just figured that we had to deal with what we had been dealt. We had no idea that he was going to be traded. We were all back there trading hats. I'm really glad that he didn't end up in Toronto to be honest. I'm not trying to bad mouth Canada or the city of Toronto but that's where the draft was and it was cold. I didn't like the weather or the difference in currency. They would have been able to cheat me out of my money for the rest of my life because I couldn't keep up with it. I'd have to keep a calculator on me at all times!

I think he was happy in California. We weren't really able to travel there much or to see him play at other places because his younger brother was still in school. We probably went to visit him four times during his rookie year.

I don't think that Antawn liked being with Golden State at first. He wasn't getting playing time as he had been accustomed to all of his life. He was struggling with playing another position (small forward as opposed to power forward). I know that the fact that he wasn't playing and that his team was playing so badly was somewhat depressing for him. But he adapted, and improved his game little by little each year. He came back to Charlotte and spent the summer at home that year.

I think that all of the losing with the Warriors really affected him. I think it would affect anyone. When they are winning, no one thinks about losing. I know that sometimes when they played hard and got so close to winning and then lost it in the end, it was upsetting. He would always calls after each game. He was usually a little down and out when he called especially after they'd lost a close game. When he called after the team had won, he was so happy that I ccould hear it in his voice. As long as they won some of them, he was a little happy.

I know that after his third year, it was somewhat upsetting for him because the organization was hoping to be better. They started out well by defeating the Spurs and then started losing again. They started out that way the season before by winning one more game than they had before in the early half of the year. Then they came out after the All-Star break and could barely win a game. No matter what, Antawn always gives all he can on the court and that makes us proud of him.

I remember when Antawn scored 51 points in back to back games. We were so proud of him! That was so unbelievable. He called after each of those games, but especially after the second game when they defeated the Lakers. They had lost the first of those two, against Seattle, but he was still excited when we spoke with him. That was the year that he didn't make the All-Star team. He was so close and he really expected to be chosen. It was really disappointing for him. It didn't bother us because he got to come home and visit us. We always like to see him every chance we get, even if he means he misses the All-Star game.