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By ROGER MILLS
© St. Petersburg Times, published August 12, 2001
Bucs rookie tight end Dauntae' Finger is a North Carolina native and proud of it. This is his world, from hoops to irregular heart beats to Jennifer Lopez to speeding to being a babe magnet:
RM: Do you realize that no matter what, the University of North Carolina always will be a basketball school?
DF: It's not fair but at the same time, you understand why. There have been so many basketball players to come out of North Carolina and go on and play professionally. People like Michael Jordan and James Worthy, Brad Daugherty, Vince Carter and people like that. But, we have had some football players, too. Lawrence Taylor and Marcus Jones come to mind. And me.
RM: Some say MJ's presence at UNC can still be felt.
DF: It's true. You go onto campus and the first thing you think is that Michael Jordan went to school here, walked these halls, went to these classes, played in this gym. It's hard not to think of him.
RM: You have any hoop skills?
DF: All the schools that recruited me, recruited me to play both football and basketball and I had an opportunity to do so. Schools like Wake Forest, Carolina, Virginia Tech and Tennessee. I was actually going to try out for the UNC team after my sophomore year. I was in the gym and knocked my shoulder out and knew it wasn't meant to be.
RM: What happened the other day when you had to be taken off for an irregular heartbeat?
DF: I was out there and had stretched out and feeling great. It's funny, just before (tight end) David Newman was telling me about the heat and I said it felt fine. For the first 20 minutes I felt good and then all of a sudden my heart started racing. It was tough for me to breath. I tried to take a couple deep breaths and my heart would skip. I got scared, especially with all the things that have been going on. I guess I kind of panicked too and that didn't help my breathing. I didn't pass out, but I couldn't walk straight.
RM: When you heard the word "ambulance," what was your reaction?
DF: When I heard them say they were going to call EMS and take me in, that's when I was really scared. I mean really scared. I tried to relax but I couldn't.
RM: Had this ever happened to you before?
DF: I had an athletic asthma attack once in college, my freshman year. But I hadn't had it in a long time. Since then, no problem.
RM: What do you have in your CD collection?
DF: I like a lot of hip-hop music but I'm also heavy into R&B. I love to be mellow. I like P Diddy a lot.
RM: Would you have split up with Jennifer Lopez?
DF: Nah, don't think so. No way. Jennifer's the baddest woman on the Earth. I'm sure there were some things that happened between them, but I would have had to hold on to her.
RM: Who would you like to sing at your wedding?
DF: I would have to bring in somebody like R Kelly or Brian McKnight. One of the cats with those smooth voices. If I need a woman to sing, it'll have to be Tamia.
RM: How many times does a phone ring before you're forced to pick it up?
DF: I can't let it ring more than twice. I've got to pick it up.
RM: Tell me a family member whose call you might let the answering machine pick up.
DF: I'll be honest, my grandmother (Betty Riendhardt). I love her to death. She raised me. But when she gets on the phone, she talks my ear off. If it is a situation where I have to go somewhere or I'm in a hurry, I can't talk to her. She won't let you go. You'll tell her you have to go and she'll keep bringing up more and more stuff.
RM: Favorite smell?
DF: When it first starts raining and it calms down a little bit, you get that smell of the earth, I love that smell. The other one I like is the smell of cutting grass.
RM: Heard you are a fast driver. DF: Yeah, I do drive fast. But I consider myself a skilled driver. Sometimes when I'm driving, if I know people are coming up on either side. I just have that intuition.
RM: Ever gotten speeding tickets?
DF: Two.
RM: What's the first thing you notice about a woman?
DF: Her smile.
RM: Yeah, whatever.
DF: No, seriously, you can look at her face and you can tell if she's a happy person. Someone who has a mean look on her face can't be happy.
RM: So what's the first thing women notice about men?
DF: Stature. Like when I walk in a room, I command attention. Heads turn. Women look and say, "Who's that right there?" Personally, it's the way I carry myself. I stand straight up. RM: Short men are out of luck?
DF: Not necessarily. If you come in with some confidence and look like you know what's going on you can get somewhere.
RM: So, there's hope for (5-foot-8 receiver) Jacquez Green?
DF: There's hope.