On Friday, May 25, Sam Vincent was named as the Charlotte Bobcats second head coach, replacing Bernie Bickerstaff who stepped down at the end of the 2006-07 season. The following is a transcript of Vincent's introduction to Bobcats fans and the city of Charlotte. Bobcats Majority Owner Bob Johnson, Managing Member of Basketball Operations Michael Jordan, President and Chief Operating Officer Fred Whitfield and Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Bernie Bickerstaff all joined Vincent onstage to celebrate this special day.

BOBCATS MAJORITY OWNER BOB JOHNSON
(Opening statements)
This is a continuation of a path that started with the Bobcats some three years ago when we were awarded the franchise, and it is part of our endeavor to build what I think over time will become one of the best franchises in the NBA. And we think that towards that goal, bringing in a brand new coach who Michael will talk about. I had the chance to talk with Sam last evening and we had a great conversation. He has all the right ingredients to build on the tremendous foundation that my good buddy Bernie Bickerstaff put in place, dating back to the first day where we sat there in the old coliseum and found out that we had Emeka Okafor as our first franchise player.

The ownership group and all the fans in Charlotte owe a debt of gratitude to Bernie Bickerstaff for setting (applause) the firm foundation that we can build on. I think Bernie did two very important things that I think will reverberate for the Bobcats throughout their history. One is that he created a work ethic on the floor that caused the players to want to play to the best of their ability from buzzer to buzzer, and he created a value system that said when you play here for the Charlotte Bobcats, you represent not only yourself – you represent the Bobcats and the city of Charlotte. And I’m delighted that our players understand that . Bernie was one of the guiding forces in brining that, and those two twin pillars that Bernie started will continue.

Now it’s time to bring on new talent, as we do every year as we get into the draft. Decisions were made by our co-owner, Michael Jordan, who has the absolute responsibility for all basketball-related matters. I can assure you there is not a better person in the world to have that responsibility on his shoulders than Michael Jordan. Without further comment, ladies and gentlemen, I’d like to introduce co-owner Michael Jordan.” (applause)

BOBCATS MANAGING MEMBER OF BASKETBALL OPERATIONS MICHAEL JORDAN
(Opening statements)
I think this marks a very important day in the history of this franchise in the sense that we continue on this road to progression and excellence about what was originally started years ago, and subsequently took a little hiatus before starting back with Bob and some of the acquisitions that he’s made – with Bernie being one. And if I can speak in terms of what Bernie meant to this franchise, I think Bob really hit the nail on the head in terms of what his energy, his motivation, his intelligence and his total dedication to the game of basketball has meant for this franchise. With that, I felt a necessary need to keep Bernie involved. At this particular time, we move Bernie to executive vice president, which is right next to me and my right-hand man. We’ve had a great relationship over the last year or so where we’ve had different conversations. We’ve always ended up on the right side of the decision, and I think this is just going to continue. I think him and his whole staff have done a great job in making sure that this franchise continues to move in the right direction. They worked hard this year – we went through a lot of injuries in the course of the year. He was able to keep them intact, keep them connected, keep them focused, keep their energy level high and yet still produce 33 wins, and I thought that was a very, very hard-working job from Bernie.

I think that when we look at his replacement, which is Sam Vincent – I played with Sam for a couple of years, we came out of high school together, were McDonald’s All-Americans. He went to Michigan State; I went to North Carolina, kind of different directions. We continued to win, he didn’t. (laughter) He came out in ’85, I came out the year before, and I think he went to Boston and he learned how to win under Larry Byrd and Kevin McHale and some of those guys – here I am at Chicago battling for 6,000 people in the stands, and yet facing him in 1985, the year I scored the 63 points and he was on the bench cheering his butt off at that time (laughter).

Then he went to Seattle, and he did a good job as point guard at Seattle. The next think you know he was traded to us, and I played with him for a couple of years and got the chance to see his leadership as a basketball player, as a point guard. I think as you look at his bio and you look at what he’s done since he left the game of basketball – he stayed connected. He paid his dues. He coached the Nigerian National Team, coached in the D-League, coached Dallas over the last year, and I just felt like his opportunity had come. As I said earlier in the course of the year, we were looking for an energetic young coach who knew the game, understood the game, could help motivate our players and yet continue this new beginning that’s happening here in Charlotte. And I couldn’t think of a better candidate – although we interviewed a lot of guys – and Bernie sat down with me, and he can tell you that we asked all of the right questions, and I guess some of the best answers came from Sam.

It was very interesting. We went from some of more established coaches to some of the younger coaches, and it was a great experience for me to be involved with Bernie to see how he conducted interviews. He was really a good right-hand man. He’s a good guy to be around to help make this decision. So I think that when you look at what we’ve established and what we’ve built thus far, on top of what Bernie and Bob have done up to this point, I think that this is a great opportunity for someone like Bernie to continue his progress and all of the things that he’s done to help the franchise get to this point, to be my right-hand man. At the same time, we’re bringing in the young, energetic, very knowledgeable coach such as Sam, to take up what Bernie has done to this point and take it to another level. So I am very proud to present Sam Vincent with his jersey with the hiring of the new coach of the Charlotte Bobcats.

BOBCATS HEAD COACH SAM VINCENT
(Opening statements)
I’ve got a big bag of thank yous that I am going to be passing out at different times throughout the year, but I’m going to start off right now with Michael and say thank you, not only for showing the confidence he is showing in me, but for also recognizing the hard work that I’ve put in to get where I am here today. Thanks for the confidence. I’m not really all that excited about you sharing that story about me cheering for you when you scored 63 points (laughter), because I was sitting on the bench in Boston and he was having an incredible day – but I was happy for him. But thank you for the opportunity, because it is really special to be here and get this first chance.

Before I even start talking about how excited I am to be here as a coach and to be a part of this continuation process of moving this organization forward, I have to step back for a bit and look at the table that I’m sitting with. The wealth of business (Johnson), coaching (Bickerstaff), playing (Jordan) and administration (Bobcats President and Chief Operating Officer Fred Whitfield) is just phenomenal. This group is just unbelievable, and to be sitting here with this group is a very, very proud moment for me. To each of the guys here, thank you for the opportunity. We all know what Bernie has done and going to continue to do, but to be able to be here, pick it up and be able to continue with all the success that he has created is just a great feeling. I’m just happy to be in this group and be part of this organization moving forward.

There are a few things I’m going to talk about that are kind of special to me and a few stories that I’m going to share. During this whole process, some of the information that I might be the head coach started to get leaked out to different channels and different media outlets. I’m not sure how that happened, but people started calling me. I’ve been getting information, suggestions and opinions about the players on the team, the coaching staff, the city of Charlotte – I’ve been getting a lot of information, and it’s a lot of good stuff. There have been four conversations and things that really stand out in my mind, and I want to share those.

One was a conversation that I had with (Bobcats Executive Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer) Greg Economou. We talked for about 45 minutes to an hour, and one of the things he really stressed and that stood out to me was his point that the Charlotte Bobcats organization is about hard work and daily improvement. He said a lot of other things throughout the conversation, but the thing that really stuck out to me is the fact that every single day the administrative staff is working hard, and every single day we want to see improvement. That was very important, because that is the way I approach a basketball team.

Another conversation that I had was last night when I had the pleasure to speak with Mr. Johnson, who I have incredible respect for, for about 30 minutes. One of the things he mentioned was community and behavior. I had a chance to hear how truly committed Mr. Johnson is to this project, this organization and this community, and really making sure that it works – and works well. Based on the track record of the success he’s had, I believe that is going to happen. There was one other thing that he said, and that is the responsibility of the players to the community. He really stressed the fact that we’re going to have good guys. We’ve had good guys, and that’s been mainly in part to coach Bickerstaff. Our guys have been in the community, and he really stressed the fact that if we have a guy who doesn’t fit in, he just won’t be here. As an incoming coach, that’s what you want to hear. You want to hear your owner say that the premium is going to be on having good guys. We’re not going to sacrifice wins – we’re going to get wins, but we’re going to have good people getting them. You’re going to see us, and you’re going to feel us – we’re going to reach out to the community and the kids and make this a lot of fun to be around.

Number three was a comment that I had with coach Bickerstaff, and he made the comment that this staff is going to be joined at the hip. To me, that meant whether it’s the business staff working with the basketball staff, the players working with the business staff – everybody is on the same page. That page is to win games, build our community presence, be solid in the community and to be good people. When I heard him mention that, it was exciting, because if you have a fragment organization, it’s disjointed. Everybody is truly going to be working together here, and that’s exciting. That goes for our coaching staff, that goes for our players in terms of working with the business staff.

The last point that I’m going to mention is something that Michael said to me. We’ve had a chance to talk back-and-forth a little bit, and he mentioned accountability – everybody is going to be accountable. What I took that as was, “Sam, if you’re not getting the job done, at some point I’m going to knock on your door.” That wouldn’t be a very happy moment for me, but it is reality. Everybody has to be accountable, and that was something that he made clear right from the beginning. So the same accountability that he’s passing on to me – that our guys get on the floor to work hard, develop and perform – is the same accountability that gets passed on to our coaching staff, as well as the administration staff. So everybody is going to be working as hard as they can to produce something as solid as possible to build the organization.

Just one more quick story. In 1997, I started coaching in South Africa, and there were a couple of American players there in the South African Professional League. About the middle of the season, those players came up to me and said, “Hey Sam, you’re a pretty good coach. Why aren’t you in the NBA?” I said, “I’m going to work hard, keep on working hard and maybe one day we’ll see what happens.” In 2000, I was coaching in Europe and had a couple of American players on my team – a guy from Louisville and a guy from Arizona State – and they came up to me and said, “Hey coach, you’re pretty good at this. Why aren’t you coaching in the NBA?” I kept my head down and said, “I’m going to keep on working hard, and maybe one day, who knows?” In 2004, I got a call from Rob Levine at the NBA office, and he said, “Hey Sam, we’ve been keeping an eye on what you’ve been doing, and we want you to come over and coach in the D-League.” I coached in the Development League, and those players looked at me one day and said, “Hey coach, you’re pretty good. Why aren’t you coaching in the NBA?” Well, in 2006, I got a call from the Dallas Mavericks Head Coach Avery Johnson, and he said in a voice that I can’t do – and I’m not going to try – he said, “Sam, you’ve been doing a good job. I’ve been following your record, and we’d like for you to come join the Dallas Mavericks.” I said, “Okay great,” but I still kept my head down and continued to work.

So today is a very, very proud moment for me – to have the opportunity to be here as my first (NBA head coaching) opportunity with an incredible organization in a beautiful city with talented young players and the resources that I have to my left and my right to put this team together and take us on the court to try and win games – it doesn’t get much better. But my response to that is, “My head is still going to be down, and I’m going to continue to work.” Nobody is going to work harder than we work, and nobody is going to be more prepared than we are, and we’ll see what happens at the end of the day. It’s a pleasure to be here. I’m sure I’ll have the opportunity to meet everybody at some point, but thank you for the opportunity to work in Charlotte.

BOBCATS EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT OF BASKETBALL OPERATIONS BERNIE BICKERSTAFF
(Opening statements)
Michael has spoken. Sam has spoken. Bob has spoken, so I’m sure you don’t want to hear that much from me. But I will say something about that the process that we had in terms of our interview. We interviewed 10 people, and we interviewed across the spectrum of those who had experience and those who were assistant coaches. And I had extensive dialogue, along with Michael, with Head Coach Avery Johnson, who played for me in Seattle.

That’s also the history that I had with this young man (Vincent) sitting to my right. We traded him to Chicago, because we realized Michael needed some grooming, and I don’t mean showering, attire or any of those things. You can see the result – Michael blossomed into a pretty good basketball player (laughter).

But we’re really happy. We think this is the right guy to continue to move our organization forward. His diversity in the NBA Development League – that’s what it’s about, teaching young people. He also has the international experience, and when you look at the playoffs, in the Easter and Western Conference Finals, there is an abundance of international players who have had an impact.

Again Sam, we’d like to welcome you, and as we told you, “We’re here for you. You’ve got an ally. You’ve got great resources, but we will not be looking over your shoulder. It’s your job, and we will be there if you need us.

BOBCATS PRESIDENT & CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER FRED WHITFIELD
(Opening statements)
I’m really thankful that the numerous city dignitaries accepted my invitation to come out and join us today, because it is all about community – it’s about this community, the one that we love.

When Michael and Bernie made the decision to hire Sam – and I’ve known Sam for years as well – one of the things that I had to get my little pitch in was that, “We’re going to need you, Sam, to help us earn our way in Charlotte – to help us grow our fan base back. I see some loyal fans here that I have seen night-in and night-out. We appreciate you being here, and you know who you are, but we have to build this base even more. The only way to do that is to get the city’s support. Obviously by having these city dignitaries with us here today, our ownership group here with us today – who are very influential people in this community – they’re supporting us because we’re building this thing the right way.

The one thing I’m very thankful of is that Bob told Sam the same thing. That “I’m really going to support you and make sure you have the opportunity to put the right people around you to build the organization the right way. Bob has stuck to that word from Day 1, and it’s been a gradual growth, because we knew coming in that it would be a long way to go to get this organization back to where it needs to be and on the map. I think today is just another step in the right direction. We have a young , energetic coach that is going to build on what Bernie has done putting a great foundation together.

We have great guys, and I work with them every day. That is very important as we reach out and touch our fans and reach out and touch the city. We’re working to earn our way back into the community. So congratulations, Sam. We’re thrilled to have you here and all look forward to working with you.