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September 19, 2006

MORRISON ATTENDS NBA CARES RALLY

On Monday, September 18, Bobcats rookie Adam Morrison joined other first-year players in New York for NBA?s annual Rookie Transition Program.

As part of the program, Morrison along with LaMarcus Aldridge, Brandon Roy, Andrea Bargnani, Randy Foye, Rudy Gay, Shelden Williams and other members of the 2006 rookie class headed to P.S. 83 for an NBA Cares rally. They were joined by Basketball Hall of Famer Bob Lanier.

At the school, Morrison and the rookie class hosted a reading rally, reading timeouts, a Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA Basketball Clinic and assisted the school in refurbishing their library.

August 26, 2006

BREZEC, SLOVENIA ELIMINATED AT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Slovenia's hopes for a gold medal at the World Championships came up short on Saturday as it fell to Turkey 90-84 in the round of 16.

Brezec posted 11 points and seven rebounds (all offensive), but Slovenia could not stop Turkey's hot shooting down the stretch. Turkey connected on five three-pointers and closed the game on a 16-5 run to claim the victory.

Brezec averaged 11.8 points on 63.6 percent shooting from the field (28-44) along with 6.5 rebounds in six games for Slovenia. Stats

August 24, 2006

BREZEC HELPS LEAD TEAM TO ROUND OF 16

A native of Slovenia, Primoz Brezec is spending part of his summer working with his national team with the hope of helping his country capture a gold medal at the world championships in Japan. Joining Brezec on the Slovenian squad are four other NBA players – Toronto Raptors center Rasho Nesterovic, New Jersey Nets forward Bostjan Nachbar, San Antonio Spurs guard Beno Udrih and Toronto Raptors forward Uros Slokar.

August 19
As the World Championships got underway, Slovenia began play in Group D, which also includes the United States, Italy, Puerto Rico, China and Senegal. The top four from each group advance to the Round of 16.

Brezec and Slovenia open the tournament with a matchup against Senegal. Slovenia dominated Senegal, posting a 96-79 victory to open the tournament. Brezec posted nine points, four rebounds and three assists in the game.

August 20
In the second game of the tournament, Slovenia suffered a tough 80-76 loss to Italy in a game that may be important to who advances to the medal round. Brezec recorded eight points and two assists as Slovenia dropped to 1-1.

August 22
Slovenia, looking to bounce back from their loss to Italy, faced a tough task by facing the undefeated United States team. Despite a fine performance from Brezec, who recorded a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds on 6-10 shooting along with five assists, Slovenia fell to the Americans, 114-95. Slovenia held an early 21-16, lead but the United States outscored Slovenia 50-28 to end the first half. The Americans never looked back as Slovenia fell to 1-2 in pool play.

August 23
Slovenia got back on the winning track on Wednesday with a 90-82 win over Puerto Rico. Brezec tallied 14 points and seven rebounds in the win, which improved Slovenia to 2-2 and put them in a tie with Puerto Rico for third place in Group D. Slovenia faces China on Thursday in the final game in pool play. China is currently in fifth place with a 1-3 record. A win over China would clinch a berth for Slovenia in the medal round.

August 24
In the final day of pool play, Brezec and Slovenia faced China with both teams looking for a win to advance to the medal round. Uros Slokar gave Slovenia a two-point lead with six seconds remaining but Shipeng Wang connected on a three-pointer at the buzzer to give China a thrilling 78-77 victory. Brezec posted 14 points on 6-6 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds for Slovenia in the loss.

Following the loss, Slovenia was forced to wait for the outcome of the Italy-Puerto Rico game to learn its fate. Slovenia needed the Italians to defeat Puerto Rico for any chance to advance to the next round. Italy came though, narrowly defeating Puerto Rico 73-72. Slovenia, China and Puerto Rico finished pool play with identical 2-3 records but due to the tie-breaker, Puerto Rico was the odd man out, allowing Slovenia and China to advance to the round of 16.

August 22, 2006

SHEA BLOGGING AT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Throughout the 2006 FIBA World Championship, Bobcats Director of International Scouting Tim Shea will be checking in with NBA.com to offer his thoughts. Check out his and others' World Championship predictions here.

August 11, 2006

HERMANN AND VOSKUHL REPORTEDLY WILL JOIN BOBCATS

Media outlets in and around Charlotte are reporting that Argentine forward Walter Hermann and free agent center Jake Voskuhl have both come to terms with the Bobcats for next season.

Hermann – who is currently playing for the Argentina national team that is one of the favorites to win the FIBA World Championships in Japan -- will reportedly sign a one-year deal with Charlotte.

Voskuhl is reported to be inking a two-year deal with a player option in 2007-08. He averaged 5.3 points and 3.8 rebounds during the 2005-06 season for the Bobcats, seeing action in 51 games, including two starts.

CHECKING IN WITH BREZEC

Primoz Brezec checked in with BobcatsBasketball.com again recently. He is currently in Singapore playing with the Slovenian National Team. They landed in Singapore after a 15-hour flight on Wednesday and lost to Spain 96-85 on Friday. Brezec scored 12 points and added five rebounds in 20 minutes in the loss.

Slovenia now moves on to a Saturday contest with Walter Hermann, Manu Ginobili and Argentina.

July 26, 2006

BREZEC PREPARING FOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Primoz Brezec checked in with BobcatsBasketball.com from Slovenia, where he is training with his country's national team in preparation for the World Championships. Slovenia is in the same group as Team USA and the two nations will meet on Aug. 22 in Sapporo, Japan.

Brezec just returned from training camp in Rogla, a mountainous area that hosts the nation's Olympic center. The Bobcats center is feeling a bit under the weather after practicing twice a day in a gym that is 100 degrees with no air conditioning. However, that didn't stop Brezec from leading Slovenia with 13 points in a 76-65 win over Poland, the first of Slovenia's 10 friendly games leading up to the World Championships.

Brezec and his teammates now travel to Turkey to play in the Efes World Cup 6 in Ankara this weekend against Lebonon, Turkey and Nigeria.

July 6, 2006

MORRISON TO BE FEATURED ON NBA ACCESS

Adam Morrison, the Charlotte Bobcats selection with the third overall pick in the 2006 NBA Draft, will be featured on NBA Access with Ahmad Rashad on Saturday, July 8. The program airs locally in Charlotte at 1:00 p.m. on WSOC-TV (channel 9) and throughout the Carolinas on ABC.

The show will feature Morrison in the days leading up to and including the NBA Draft, chronicling several workouts for NBA teams and his life away from the basketball court. The personal profile of the nation’s leading Division I college scorer in 2005-06 illustrates his life as a diabetic and strong relationship with his family.

June 26, 2006

BOBCATS IN ATTENDANCE FOR VENGEANCE

Bobcats Gerald Wallace and Sean May got an up-close look at WWE action on Sunday, June 25, as they were both in attendance for the WWE Vengeance pay-per-view.

One of the self-proclaimed biggest WWE fans in the NBA, Wallace sat ringside, just behind and to the right of WWE RAW announcers J.R. (Jim Ross) and Jerry "The King" Lawler.

Among the highlights of the night for Wallace and May were seeing Rob Van Dam retain his WWE title over Edge, seeing Charlotte's own Ric Flair defeat Mick Foley in a two-out-of-three falls match and watching DX -- Triple H and Shawn Michaels -- dismantle the Spirit Squad.

June 13, 2006

G-FORCE GETS A GLIMPSE INSIDE THE WWE

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For the first time in approximately one year, Gerald Wallace was just another fan at a press conference at Charlotte Bobcats Arena.

The WWE was in the Queen City on Tuesday to promote the WWE Vengeance pay-per-view event on Sunday, June 25, and G-Force was there for an up-close look.

Prior to the press conference, Wallace had the opportunity to meet WWE superstars Randy Orton, Edge, Ric Flair, WWE Champion Rob Van Dam, and D-Generation X members Triple H and Shawn Michaels, whom he sat down and talked with for a fair amount of time about his experiences and theirs.

For Wallace, it was an opportunity for him to get to know some of his favorite performers.

“I’m very pumped,” Wallace said. “I’m not sure there’s anyone in the NBA who is as big of a wrestling fan as I am. I’m glad they are coming here to perform in an arena that I play in almost every night, and have the opportunity to watch firsthand one of my favorite things on TV.”

After greeting the fans at the press conference and telling them how excited he was to have the WWE coming to town, Wallace went back behind the scenes, where he conversed and took photos with many of the superstars.

“It was fun and exciting,” Wallace said. “That was the closest I’ve ever been to them. I’ve been to an event before, but that’s the closest I’ve been to the superstars up close. I got a chance to see their personalities today. They have great personalities -- every single one of them. I had a great time.”

He wasn’t the only one. In true DX fashion, Triple H and Michaels summed up their impressions of G-Force.

“He’s tall,” laughed Triple H. “Yeah he has potential to play basketball. He has big hands and he’s tall.”

“Yeah the height, the height,” added Michaels. “He must be strong too, because he had on two diamond earrings that looked like they weighed 40 pounds each and his head didn’t sway, so he’s pretty strong.”

June 9, 2006

BOBCATS LAND 50th PICK IN 2006 NBA DRAFT
The Bobcats have obtained the 50th overall pick in the 2006 NBA Draft, held on June 28 at Madison Square Garden. Orlando elected to pass along its right to Sacramento’s pick to the Bobcats. The draft pick completes the trade that sent former Bobcats guard Jason Hart to Sacramento on August 8, 2005.

Orlando earned Sacramento’s pick following a series of trades and had the option of using the selection this year or in 2007, depending on when the Magic deferred the pick to Charlotte. The Bobcats traded their own 2006 second round pick to the Los Angeles Clippers as part of the deal that brought Melvin Ely and Eddie House to Charlotte on July 14, 2004.

June 5, 2006

OKAFOR WORKING OUT
NBA prospects Adam Morrison, Rodney Carney and Tarence Kinsey weren’t the only ones on the court at the Presbyterian Hospital Training Center on Monday.

Prior to the draft prospects’ workout, Bobcats forward/center Emeka Okafor was on the court working with Head Athletic Trainer Joe Sharpe.

Okafor missed the last 48 games of the regular season with an ankle injury and is slowly working his way back to the court.

“He looks great,” Sharpe said. “He’s progressing very well, and we’re excited with what he’s doing. He’s going to keep progressing from here, but we’re taking baby steps right now. We’ll eventually let him loose 100 percent, but right now we’re controlling everything he does.”

This is done by keeping close tabs on the amount of time Okafor spends working out and minimizing his movement.

“We limit him to not more than 20 minutes of running and everything is straight ahead,” Sharpe said. “Today was the first time that he did some lateral stuff -- running around the court perimeter -- and everything is going pretty well. He’s progressing faster than we thought he would, so we’re very encouraged right now.

“We’re looking for two more positive straight-forward running sessions, and then we might start getting into some lateral stuff here. We’re talking about more aggressive stuff -- some rounded out lateral stuff and some sharp stuff after that.”

For now, Bobcats fans, players and coaches should be encouraged that the 2004-05 NBA Rookie of the Year is putting in the time and effort to get back to form.

As Bobcats General Manager and Head Coach Bernie Bickerstaff said to Okafor after Monday’s workout, “This is the first time I’ve seen you sweat in a long time. You look good.”

May 23, 2006

HAPPY BICKERSTAFF IS BACK
On Tuesday, May 23, Bernie Bickerstaff announced he would be returning to the Bobcats in the 2006-07 season in the dual role of both Head Coach and General Manager.

The news of Bickerstaff’s return excited two Bobcats players in attendance at the Sting vs. Sparks game that evening.

“That’s cool. He’s been around for a long time and has been able to find a way to get this team to excel despite some of the problems we faced last year,” Alan Anderson said. “Hopefully next year we can exceed this past year. He has a lot of wisdom to give us. It’s great we get to keep the coaching staff together too – the other coach (John-Blair) Bickerstaff, coach (Jeff) Capel, coach (Gary) Brokaw, coach (John) Outlaw and coach (Gary) Kloppenburg, and move on from there. I’m excited.”

Both Anderson and Raymond Felton will be entering their second years with the Bobcats, and as Felton points out, establishing consistency with this team and the coaching staff will only allow Charlotte to get better heading into year three.

“I think having that continuity is big,” he said. “We have a young team, but I think we have a great team. Just look at what we’ll have once we get those guys back that were injured last year, with Sean (May), Emeka (Okafor) and a healthier Gerald Wallace -- even though he had a tremendous season last year. With Bernie running things, those guys back and Gerald at 100 percent at the beginning of the season, I think we are going to be a team to be reckoned with.”

May 11, 2006

BOBCATS AMONG BEST DEFENDERS
Bobcats co-captains Gerald Wallace and Brevin Knight were both among NBA players who earned votes for the NBA All-Defensive teams when the votes were announced on Thursday.

Wallace fell just short of making the NBA All-Defensive Second Team, coming up with 11 total points, including three votes for the First Team. Detroit's Tayshaun Prince took the last spot on the Second Team with a total of 13 points.

Knight finished with three points after receiving three Second Team votes.

The voting panel consisted of the NBA’s 30 head coaches, who were asked to select NBA All-Defensive First and Second Teams by position. Coaches were not permitted to vote for players from their own team. Two points were awarded for a First Team vote and one point was awarded for a Second Team vote.

May 10, 2006

FELTON FINISHES FOURTH IN ROOKIE OF THE YEAR VOTING
After a spectacular rookie campaign capped by three-straight Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month awards to close the 2005-06 season, Bobcats guard Raymond Felton finished in fourth place in 2005-06 T-Mobile Rookie of the Year voting.

Felton earned 19 second-place votes and 22 third-place votes for a total of 79 points from the panel of 125 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada.

New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets Chris Paul received 124 out of a possible 125 first-place votes (623 points), the largest percent of votes since David Robinson received 100 percent of first-place votes in 1989-90. Utah's Deron Williams received the other lone first-place vote, but finished sixth in the voting with 31 points.

Players were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third-place vote received. Toronto’s Charlie Villanueva finished second with 248 points and Milwaukee’s Andrew Bogut finished third with 98 points.

BOBCATS TAKE IN A STING GAME
Both Raymond Felton and Jumaine Jones were spotted at the Sting's preseason home game against San Antonio on Tuesday night. Both players have spent the time since the season-ending win over Philly unwinding and relaxing. During the game, Jones looked at Silver Stars coach Dan Hughes and said, "That coach looks familiar." Turns out Hughes was the head coach of the Cleveland Rockers when Jones was a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2001-02 and 2002-03 season. Hughes coached the Sting in 1999 before moving on to the top spot with the Rockers from 2000-03.

May 9, 2006

KNIGHT BACK BEHIND THE MIC
After suiting up as a special guest reporter for NBA TV during the first round playoff series between the Mavericks and Grizzlies, Bobcats veteran point guard Brevin Knight will be back behind the mic in the second round. Knight is on his way to Phoenix, where he will serve as a guest reporter during the second round between the Suns and the Clippers. Judging by the Suns 130-123 win on Monday, Knight could be in for an exciting series.

Read more about how Knight landed a spot as a guest reporter on NBA TV

May 8, 2006

BICKERSTAFF HONORED
Bobcats General Manager & Head Coach Bernie Bickerstaff was honored at Rio Grande College this weekend. Both he and past Rio Coach and Athletic Director Arthur Lanham were guests of honor at a reception, dinner and roast on Friday night. Bickerstaff was then presented an honorary doctorate degree on Saturday. He participated in Founder's Day in the morning, the President's Luncheon at Noon and the Commencement at 2:00 p.m.

May 2, 2006

Carroll

Anderson

BOBCATS PICK UP TWO OPTIONS
In the first move of the offseason and in an effort to retain some of the depth they had on the court in 2005-06, the Bobcats have picked up the team options on Matt Carroll and Alan Anderson for 2006-07.

"It was an easy decision to exercise the options for Matt and Alan," Bobcats General Manager and Head Coach Bernie Bickerstaff said. "Their play earned them the opportunity to return and continue the strong progress made this season. We look forward to Matt and Alan continuing to utilize their talents and contributing to our organization."

Carroll averaged 7.6 points and 2.0 rebounds in 16.3 minutes off the bench for the Bobcats in 78 games this season, including six starts. The 6-6, 212-pound guard also ranked second on the team in both three-point shooting (38.9 percent) and free throw shooting (82.1 percent). Carroll scored a career-high 26 points on February 10 against Toronto and tallied double-figure scoring in 26 games. This was Carroll's first full season with the Bobcats after signing on with Charlotte for the final 30 games of the 2004-05 season.

Anderson averaged 5.8 points and 1.9 rebounds in 15.7 minutes as a Bobcats reserve in 36 games this season, including seven starts. The 6-6, 220-pound guard/forward finished the season ranked first on the squad in three-point shooting (41.4 percent) and third in free throw shooting (80.5 percent) after signing on with Charlotte as an undrafted rookie free agent. After seeing limited minutes over the first half of his rookie year, Anderson averaged 7.8 points in 14 games over the season’s final two months and 9.7 points in the month of April, where Charlotte won a franchise-best six games.

May 1, 2006

WALLACE AMONG MOST IMPROVED
Continuing his string of national recognition for his performance on the court this season, “G-Force” Gerald Wallace placed fourth in 2005-06 NBA Most Improved Player Award balloting, as voted upon by a panel of 126 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. Wallace totaled 46 points, including three first-place votes from the panel.

Wallace improved in numerous statistical categories this season, posting career highs in points (15.2), field goal percentage (.538), rebounds (7.5), steals (2.51) and blocks (2.09). He ended the season ranked first in the league in steals, fourth in field goal percentage and 11th in blocks.

He became just the third player in the NBA to average over 2.0 blocks and 2.0 steals since the league began recording blocked shots officially in 1973, joining future Hall of Fame centers Hakeem Olajuwon and David Robinson as the players to achieve the rare feat, and became the first NBA player to do so in 14 seasons.

Boris Diaw of the Phoenix Suns won the award with a total of 489 points, including 80 first-place votes, followed by New Orleans/Oklahoma City’s David West in second with 283 points (22 first-place votes). New Jersey’s Nenad Krstic tallied 65 points (four first-place votes) to round out the top three spots.

Players were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third place vote received.