DURHAM, N.C. -- The part didn't have many lines, but Wendell Carter Jr. was onstage for most of the play, and that's what mattered. He'd caught the acting bug a few years into high school, and he was finally a part of a performance, an adaptation of the 1930s hit "You Can't Take It With You." Besides, Carter was 6-10, a superstar on the basketball court and one of the country's top recruits. Of course he'd stand out.
Still, Carter's spotlight came in a supporting role, as a member of an eccentric family whose job was to help the lead actress end up with her rich beau.