If you've never logged on to the World Wide Web, now might be the time to start, especially as basketball season heats up. Seth Fleishman, a sophomore business major from Knoxville, TN has created World Wide Web pages for three varsity basketball players. His creations have made UNC the only school to have web pages for athletes, Fleishman said. "People need to realize that there is more to the athletes than just basketball," he said. "There is a lot you can learn from them if you give them the chance." Vince Carter, Antawn Jamison and Shammond Williams all have their own websites, making it possible for anyone to log on and get an in-depth look at the players via the Internet. The primary motive behind creating the web pages was to give people a better idea of what the athletes were really like, he said. Fleishman, president of the Star Wars Club, began his World Wide Web programming with a Star Wars web page. Since the page had already been created at other universities, Fleishman said he wanted to create something original. "I wanted to create something no one else had," he said. Since Williams was a friend, Fleishman said he decided to combine his computer skills and connections with the team. The creation of web pages for varsity athletes has resulted in attention for Fleishman, including a job offer from the Knoxville-based Enterscape company. Fleishman said he had accepted the position on a part-time basis. The athletes' web sites were created so a user can easily go from page to page with a simple click of the mouse. By clicking on certain highlighted words, users can browse through the web site or visit other pages relating to UNC basketball, Fleishman said. Each web site contains pictures of the featured players in action, exclusive interviews, statistics and the 1996 UNC men's basketball schedule. Information on how to receive player autographs is provided.
A close-up picture of Shammond Williams and his quote "When I have him guessing what I'm going to do, I'm most lethal," decorate the home page of his web site. There is also a picture of Williams at the Smith Center with "his No. 1 fan," Nathan Fleishman, Seth Fleishman's 12-year-old cousin.
The next basketball player to be featured on the World Wide Web will be Ademola Okulaja, Fleishman said. Jeff McInnis had also shown an interest in having his own web page created, Fleishman said. "I hope it (the web page) gives the athletes more publicity and the fans a little more fun," Fleishman said. Fleishman said he was not planning on creating web pages for any sport other than basketball at the moment.