Vince Carter busied himself goofing on the practice court with nine-year-old Lindsey Hunter Jr., whose impressive shooting skills at such a young age were not lost on the Toronto Raptors' star.

"He's a pretty good passer, too. I don't know where he got that skill from," Carter said mischievously, casting a sideways glance toward the boy's father, Lindsey Hunter, Carter's teammate. The elder Hunter pretended not to have heard the jab.

A light-hearted atmosphere prevailed at the Air Canada Centre yesterday as the Raptors auditioned several more prospects for next Thursday's National Basketball Association draft.

Carter and Hunter used the occasion to drop by and visit with new coach Kevin O'Neill.

O'Neill, who officially assumed the coaching job on Wednesday, was asked if it was still too early for him to determine how he plans to utilize Carter next season.

"Often," O'Neill said without hesitation. "Let's face it, we've got one of the best players in the NBA and we've got some real solid veterans -- Antonio Davis is an all-star type player. So it's going to be my job to help these guys as much as I can with their game, get them in the right places at the right time. But that's going to take a while to figure out.

"Believe me, I've been doing a lot of it in my head already. I've watched already about 25 of the game tapes from last year. So I have some ideas, but I've got to get them out on the court before we know exactly what we're doing."

All this sounds good to Carter, the Toronto shooting guard, who said the Raptors need a fresh, energetic face to lead them after their 24-58 season under former coach Lenny Wilkens.

"He seems excited and hungry about the opportunity and that's what it's all about, a chance for a coach to come in and really make a difference and turn this program around," Carter said. "First impressions last a long time and I'm impressed and I'm excited about the opportunity. I think it's going to be a winning basketball relationship."