Who is this guy?

That’s how Toronto fans will react as they watch the Nets’ Vince Carter tonight in his first game against his former team. You can hardly blame the Raptors’ rooters for not recognizing the man in uniform for New Jersey, even though he spent the previous six-and-a-half seasons north of the border. The driving, hustling, defending Vince Carter who plays for the Nets bears only a passing resemblance to the guy who had been loafing up and down the court for Toronto before the trade.

Many moons ago, Carter’s tenure in Toronto began in spectacular fashion. The high-flying swingman led the team in scoring as a rookie in 1998-99; two years later, he nearly engineered a second-round playoff upset of the 76ers. He was supposed to be the Next Big Star, especially after unleashing perhaps the greatest dunk ever. It was during the 2000 Sydney Olympics, you’ll remember, that Carter came in off the dribble on the left wing and jumped over French seven-footer Frederic Weis (sorry to bring that name up, Knicks fans) before slamming it home en route to a gold medal.

But instead of leading Canada’s only team out of the basketball wilderness, Carter retreated into his own personal cave. Despite his great physical gifts, he was never totally comfortable being The Man. Unfortunately for the Raptors, this manifested itself in an odd way: Carter seemingly went out of his way to avoid being a superstar.

The man they called Air Canada had to be the first player in the history of basketball to stop playing hard on offense. We’ve all seen guys mail it in at the defensive end – Tracy Mc-Grady last year, Latrell Sprewell this year, Vin Baker every year – but to see a guy lazily hoisting up 20-footers rather than getting to the rim? That was a first.

It seemed so utterly callous, like basketball wasn’t important to him. It doesn’t matter if it’s a lunchtime pickup game or garbage time in a Hawks-Warriors snoozer – everybody tries when they have the ball. No matter how annoying the coach is or how much tension there is in the locker room, anyone who gets a ball in his hands feels compelled to try to put it in the basket. Carter’s cousin McGrady is the perfect example – even while he spent all last year sulking in Orlando, he still found enough motivation to win the scoring title.

Carter felt no such compulsion, and just stopped trying. As Martin Johnson noted in this space two weeks ago, Carter’s free-throw rate sank faster than the Edmund Fitzgerald. That wasn’t because teams were playing him differently or because he got more accurate with the jumper – it was because he essentially gave up on the idea of going to the rim. He would settle for the jumper, casually taking a throwaway dribble to his left before launching a fade away off the front rim.

Once he stopped playing hard, the Raptors’ record suffered, a vicious cycle that only made Carter stem his effort even more. By this winter, Carter had that “get me out of here” look on his face, the one you normally only see from the token straight guy in Oprah’s studio audience.

After demanding a trade in the off-season, his effort sunk to new, shockingly lethargic depths. At the time of the deal that sent him south to New Jersey, his averages of 15.9 points, 41.1% shooting, and 3.3 rebounds were the worst of his career. Even from the free-throw line, he was 10 points below his career mark at 69%. I mean, how do you stop trying from the free-throw line? Somehow, Carter found a way.

Since then, Carter’s found religion in New Jersey. Several factors help explain his resurgence. First, expectations aren’t a factor right now because the Nets weren’t supposed to contend for the playoffs anyway. In that light, anything Carter accomplishes is a positive surprise.

Second, he has Jason Kidd to share the spotlight with him. Like Antawn Jamison at North Carolina, Kidd allows Carter to avoid being the leader and bearing the brunt of fans’ invective. Finally, it probably helps that his performances impact the hopes of only a few hundred diehards in Bergen County rather than the larger audiences for his work in Toronto.

But Carter’s history in Toronto brings up two questions, one important and one incredibly interesting. The important one for the Nets is this: How long will this guy keep playing hard?

Carter gave the Raptors three good years before unexpectedly dialing back the effort, and it remains to be seen how long he’ll perform at this level for New Jersey. Will Carter play just as hard if Kidd is traded or injured and he again becomes the focal point? Will he keep pushing himself once the team’s fans come to expect 26 points and an off-the-backboard dunk as just another night at the office? Or will Carter again sink into his shell once the expectations have caught up to his splendid New Jersey performance?

The other part that’s interesting to ponder, especially for our neighbors to the north, is this: How good would the Raptors be right now if Carter had played like this in Toronto? Remember, Carter demanded a trade because he thought the Raptors weren’t making moves to be a contender.

But it turns out the only maneuver needed was recharging Carter’s batteries. Had he been dropping in 26 a game and playing defense like it mattered, as he’s done in East Rutherford, the Raptors undoubtedly would be on top of the Atlantic Division right now. Even the Nets, with far less talent and depth than Toronto, have managed to go 14-14 with Carter. Putting the revitalized version of Vince with Chris Bosh, Rafer Alston, Donyell Marshall, and Morris Peterson would have the Raptors eyeing the second round of the playoffs.

But the revitalized Carter is a player with whom only graybeard Raptors fans are familiar. The rest will look on with puzzlement tonight as the Nets’ no. 15 goes hard to the basket and makes a concerted effort at both ends of the floor. So my admonition to Nets fans is to enjoy the Carter Era while it lasts, and hope that it lasts a long time. But keep the memory of those tormented Raptors fans in the back of your mind, because someday soon, that could be you.