Matt Rochinski and Malinda Murray of Bobcats.com have put together a report on day one of Charlotte’s pre-draft workout process.
Charlotte’s preparation for the 2008 NBA Draft began Wednesday at the Presbyterian Hospital Training Center at Time Warner Cable Arena with Duke’s DeMarcus Nelson, Virginia’s Sean Singletary, Mississippi State’s Jamont Gordon, Florida State’s Jason Rich, Oregon’s Malik Hairston and Eastern Tennessee State University’s Courtney Pigram all participating in new Head Coach Larry Brown’s first predraft workouts with the Bobcats.
DeMarcus Nelson was a two-time captain for the Blue Devils and finished his career ranked 33rd all-time in scoring (1,336 points), 28th in rebounds (606), 14th in three-pointers made (124), 13th in three-point percentage (.373) and 21st in steals (145). He is one of only six players in school history to record 1,300 points, 600 rebounds, 200 assists and 125 steals. Nelson was named ACC Defensive Player of the Year, All-ACC First Team and ACC Coaches’ All-Defensive Team in his senior season. Named to the ACC All-Tournament Second Team after leading Duke with 15.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.5 steals.
Sean Singletary played four years at Virginia is the only player in ACC history with 2,000 points, 500 assists, 400 rebounds and 200 steals. A three time All-Atlantic Coast Conference First Team selection, Singletary was also a three-time co-captain for the Cavaliers. As a Bob Cousy Award finalist in 2007-08, he scored in double figures in all 33 games, closing a streak in which he tallied double figures in 55 straight contests – a Virginia record. Ranked second in the ACC in assists (6.1), third in scoring (19.8 points), fourth in free throw percentage (.851), sixth in steals (1.82) and minutes played (34.0 mpg), and ninth in assist/turnover ratio (1.58).
Jamont Gordon is an early entrant for the 2008 NBA Draft after being named First Team All-SEC as junior at Mississippi State in 2007-08. He ranked second on the team in scoring (17.2 points, ranked seventh in the SEC) and third in rebounding (6.6), while leading the squad in assists (4.9, third). Gordon also scored 20 or more points 16 times and currently ranks seventh on Mississippi State’s all-time scoring list with 1,558 career points.
Jason Rich finished his four-year career at Florida State ranked in the Top 25 in 10 different statistical categories, including 17th in scoring (1,315 points), tied for 15th in steals (133), 16th in career field goals made (510) and 23rd in assists (224). He averaged a career-high 14.5 points (second on the team), 2.1 assists (second on team), 4.4 rebounds (third) and 1.2 steals (third) while shooting .446 from the field and .772 from the free throw line.
Malik Hairston finished his four-year career at Oregon tied for sixth with Stan Love and Fred Jones on Oregon’s all-time scoring list with 1,644 points. He also ranks seventh all-time in field goals made (612), sixth in blocked shots (71), 10th in three-point field goal percentage (.395) and 12th in three-point field goals made (145). Averaged a team-high 16.3 points (ranked ninth in the Pac-10) and 4.8 rebounds in his senior season and also ranked fifth in the league in three-point field goal percentage (.433).
Courtney Pigram is an early entrant for the 2008 NBA Draft after having scored 1,445 points in his three-year career at Eastern Tennessee State University. He finished first on the team with 15.8 points and sixth in the Atlantic Sun Conference with 3.4 assists. Pigram won A-Sun Player of the Year honors in his sophomore season in 2006-07 after finishing second in the league with an average of 18.1 points. He led the team in scoring that season and led the conference with 86 3-pointers made.
Bobcats head coach Larry Brown offered his thoughts as well:
(On his first time getting back on the floor and coaching)
I loved it. It was fun. It was hard coaching a Duke guy. No, I’m kidding. It was a lot fun. They were a great group. I know how important this is to these kids, so I don’t take it lightly. Hopefully we taught them a little bit. I think we got an opportunity to assess what talent they are.
(On how involved he is in the workouts)
I know how important it is to them. I think if the head coach can be out here working with them, I feel like they appreciate that. I realize we’re not going to be able to draft all of these kids, but you hope that it’s a positive experience for them and someday you might be in a position to bring them on your team. I want to be a part of it and I want to feel like we’re here to help them.
(On what he’s looking for during the workouts)
I want them to have fun. It seems like there’s a lot of pressure on them. A lot of them are going from here to seven, eight, nine, 10 other places. I want to see guys that accept coaching. I think that’s real important. I think athleticism is a big thing in our league. We need kids that are pretty good athletes and kids that have a chance to get better. You draft them so young now, everyone’s not a finished product. You’ve got to coach them up and if we see that a kid has the potential to improve, that’s a big factor when you assess them.
(On if any of the players stood out)
They all did. I think they were real attentive, real competitive. They helped one another. It was fun. I told all of these kids that it might not happen right away, the way they planned it and the way they hoped, but there is an opportunity for all these kids to make it to our league. They just have to try to do the very best they can in all of these workouts and hope somebody recognizes their talent.
(On if you can tell how coachable a player is during an hour and a half workout)
You can to some degree. I’m a basketball nut, so I watched a lot of games the last few years. I watched the way people coached kids and I saw how kids respond to coaching and how they handle situations. I went to Orlando and I went to a lot of college practice. A lot of these kids, I feel like I know a great deal about, but being with them on the court is important. This hour and a half helped. We went to dinner with them last night ,which was kind of neat. The more you spend time with them, the better feel you have for them.
(On if being away from coaching for two years gave him a different perspective)
I didn’t like the way it ended. I didn’t like the job I did with New York. I thought I used the two years productively watching other people coach. I learned a lot. I don’t think I would have had the opportunity to learn if I would have been working. I realized how lucky I am to be part of this game when I was away from it. I just feel real fortunate I have this opportunity and hopefully I will do better.
(On DeMarcus Nelson)
He’s a pretty remarkable kid. He had an unbelievable career and I can understand that. He’s a great kid. He’s well coached. He’s unbelievably competitive and he’s a terrific athlete. He’s going to be in our league. I don’t know where and I don’t know when, but he’s going to be in our league. He’ll just find a way to make a team better. He certainly has the size and strength to compete on this level. He was much more skilled than I thought, so I was real excited about him.
(On if the Bobcats will fulfill a need or take the best player with the ninth pick)
I think Michael’s (Jordan) certainly going to make the call, but talking to him, he thinks we have to fulfill a need, but he also doesn’t want to pass up the best player. I think if we have a need and there are two guys that are pretty similar, we would go for that need. If there’s a clear cut guy that’s better, I always hate to pass up that.
(On the Bobcats need for big men and point guards)
I think if you ask every team in the league, they’d tell you that. Those two positions are so difficult to fill. I think there are going to be a lot of bigs out there and I think there are going to be some points as well. I think it’s pretty accurate. It’s so hard to find big people. Whether we do that in the draft, trade or free agency, I don’t know. The same thing with point guards. It’s so difficult. You see the affect that young point guards have had on our league. It’s remarkable. (Tony) Parker, (Deron) Williams and Chris Paul and (Steve) Nash, they’ve changed the whole game. The two years I’ve been away, it’s changed dramatically just because of the emergence of kids like this. You have to have people that can keep guards in front of them without fouling. It’s unbelievably important now and you have to have guys that can penetrate and play pick and roll and get other people involved. I’m excited about Raymond (Felton) in that regard because I think Raymond can do both those things.
(On if the Bobcats would trade the ninth pick for a veteran player)
Depends on the player. If you have a guy that fits a need and is already established and can help the growth of our young players, I don’t have any problem with that. If you look at this draft, it’s incredibly deep. I look at some of the guys who might be there a number nine and they could turn out to be as good as number two or three in the draft. I’m excited about that. Then when you talk about point guards and big guys, I look at the draft and it’s deep at both those positions with kids that have a chance to grow and get better. That’s exciting.
Click here to watch Bobcats.com’s video coverage from day one of the workout process.
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Posted By: Dustin Chapman
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