photo by DEBRA FRIEDMAN

He stayed. After more than a year of daily speculation in the newspapers, on radio shows and in sports pubs, Vince Carter chose to re-sign in Toronto rather than play ball in New York or Miami or Los Angeles or Philadelphia.

Those who'd been expecting his exit south of the border since the superstar guard first appeared three years ago were ecstatic in true insecure Torontonian fashion, but Carter's future should never have been in doubt.

Folding himself into a collapsible chair on the centre line of the Raptors' practice court in the Air Canada Centre, a wisecracking Carter politely swats away the basketball clichés about staying in the city that made him a star. Not that he won't bolt when his contract ends - or before, if the team truly heads into the tank - but right now he's Toronto's highest-paid endorsement for the city.

Carter loves Toronto - as much, at least, as a multi-millionaire athlete can love his adopted town. He moved his mother and his agent here, and he says what happens during his downtime makes the big difference.

"Two hours of basketball heaven is a lot to pay for 22 hours of hell," Carter says with a smile. "People forget that I don't just play basketball. We play or practise for a couple hours a day, and then basketball's finished. If I can't enjoy being in the city, I'm going to have a lot of long days for a lot of years.

"When I made my decision to stay, it was about feeling like home. When I'm home I know where to go, where I'm comfortable, and I know who to hang around with. I got that feeling here. People let you be when you go out. Of course, people get excited when they see you, but for the most part they let you be, and that was refreshing."

Carter has his ideas about what makes this city special.

"You wanna talk about the best of Toronto? The best thing about Toronto is your food. I can eat pasta every day, and Toronto has this huge Italian community, so it's everywhere. I'm trying to eat my way across Toronto."

Penne aside, a crucial part of establishing himself in the city was creating a connection with the hiphop community. The music-mad Carter quickly endeared himself to the scene, bringing in Kardinal Offishall's crew to perform at his annual celebrity summer charity game at the ACC and launching a weekly Thursday-night showcase at Inside with Toronto hiphop/soul manager Chris Smith where local artists can come and strut their stuff.

"One of the first things I did when I got here was to throw a jam here in the gym," he explains. "I invited all the artists from Canada, just to big them up and show my support for what they do. That's how I met Kardi and his crew. All those cats are dope.

"The showcase thing is just a way for me to support the scene. I'm not a greedy person. I want everyone to shine."

Carter will be there, but thankfully, in the wake of Shaq, Kobe and Allen Iverson's painful adventures on the mike, he won't be rocking the mike himself.

"Aw, man, I'm a terrible MC," he laughs. "I'm building a house that's going to have a studio in it where me and my boys can make tapes and laugh at each other, but you'll never hear them."

By MATT GALLOWAY