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bobcats.com
June 18, 2008
Darrell Arthur worked out for the Bobcats on
Wednesday.
Video - Day 6 | UPDATED PICS - Gallery | Draft Central
Charlotte's preparation for the 2008 NBA Draft continued Wednesday at the Presbyterian Hospital Training Center at Time Warner Cable Arena with LSU’s Anthony Randolph, Kansas' Darrell Arthur and UAB's Walter Sharpe.
Anthony Randolph is an early entry candidate for the 2008 NBA Draft and is projected to go in the top ten in our consensus mock draft. As a freshman at LSU in 2007-08, he earned Honorable Mention All-SEC honors and was named to the league All-Freshman Team. Randolph led the Tigers in rebounding (8.5, ranked 3rd in the SEC) and was the second-leading scorer (15.6, 12th in the SEC) for the team. He also finished the season ranked third in the SEC in blocked shots (2.3).
Darrell Arthur is also an early entry candidate for the 2008 NBA Draft and is projected to go in the top 15 in our consensus mock draft. He averaged 12.8 points and 6.3 rebounds over the course of the 2007-08 campaign and played a major role in helping the Jayhawks secure the 2008 National Championship. Following his sophomore season, Arthur was named First Team All-Big 12. He finished the season ranked fourth in the Big 12 in field goal percentage (.543) and seventh in blocked shots (1.3) and currently ranks as the 13th all-time leader in blocked shots in Kanas history with 109.
Walter Sharpe is an early entry candidate for the 2008 NBA Draft. The 6-9 forward averaged 14.2 points and 6.8 rebounds at UAB during the 2007-08 season.
Bobcats Head Coach Larry Brown, Randolph and Arthur all spoke with the media following the workout.
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(On the players at today’s workout)
They were good. They were really talented. They are real young, but they did a great job. We’d probably be lucky to have them.
(On Anthony Randolph)
I can see why he’s projected to go pretty high on the draft. He’s real coachable. He’s highly skilled. I don’t think he’ll be 19 until January. He can handle the ball. He’s athletic. I know he’s left handed and right away you think of Chris Bosh. I remember when Chris was young and physically, they are very similar at this stage. I can see why people are very high on him. He’s got to fill out a little to work on his inside game. He’s just really skilled. He’s a great kid. He’s got a chance to pretty special.
(On Darrell Arthur)
He went to Kansas, so he has good bloodlines there. He went to the right school. He’s a great kid. He’s young as well. He’s got a terrific future. He’s come from a phenomenal program with a great coach. When you win a national championship and you’re a big part of that, obviously you have a chance to be successful in our league.
(On how important it is to get another big man)
I don’t know. We just have to get talent in here. If Sean May’s healthy, that’s talent. But the more young big kids you can get with the chance to get better, the luckier you are. Then it’s our job to coach them up. These big kids we’ve had in, not only today, but last week, there are a lot of them that have a huge upside. The more big young kids you can get the more successful you can be. Look at what (Kendrick) Perkins and the affect he had on Boston. It didn’t happen overnight for him. Length and athleticism is something that’s really important. The kids we’ve seen have all had that.
(On how much of an impact one of these players could have in their first year)
I think my initial response would be would that it would be difficult for a lot of these guys to step in right away. With that being said, you don’t know. In Seattle, they had to play (Kevin) Durant and (Jeff) Green right away. Their team didn’t have a lot of success, but I think their learning curve was sped up because they got to play. I’m not afraid to play young kids. They might have to learn on the job. That just might happen, but you can’t teach athleticism. You can’t teach size. You either have it or you don’t. All the kids I’ve seen, I really believe in time, they are going to be terrific NBA players.
(On Walter Sharpe)
I like Sharpe a lot. A lot of people didn’t hear about him because he’s had some health issues, but he’s a really talented young kid as well. He’s long. I want to see if they’re coachable and if they have a chance to get better. I love athleticism.
(On the Bobcats draft plans)
We’re going to take the best player I think. You’d have to talk to Michael (Jordan) though. I think we are going to do our homework and take somebody that can be a player here for a long time. This is an important draft for us, this pick. Hopefully we’ll luck out and get somebody that’s going to be around here a long time.
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(On the workout)
It was great. It was a lot of teaching unlike the other workouts. They really focus on making you better. I think it’s great just to see how the NBA coaches teach you and (being able to) learn from a great coach.
(On his decision to enter the Draft after his freshman year)
It was a tough decision, but me, my family and my coaches felt it was the right time for me to come out.
(On where he’s heard he might go)
I’m not sure, anywhere from two to 10, so we’ll just have to wait and see.
(On working out with Darrell Arthur)
He’s a proven winner and a national champion so it’s a good thing to play a guy like that.
(On his game)
I’m comfortable playing anywhere, close to the basket, on the perimeter, anywhere. I’ll shoot it from anywhere.
(On how he would fit playing with Emeka Okafor and the Bobcats)
I think that would be a great fit. (Having) me down there to take some of the pressure off of him. I’m inside-outside, so I think it would be a great fit.
(On the difference between this workout and others he has been to)
Most of the others, they tell you, we want you to do this and go out there and do it. (It's) three-on-three, playing against each other just to see who is the better talent. Here it’s more of a teaching and a learning experience.
(On what Larry Brown taught him today)
When you come out here, anytime you are on the court, just go hard. This is your job. You don’t have school or classes or anything to worry about.
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(On the workout)
The workout went pretty good. Coach Brown did a lot of teaching, perimeter wise. It was something different for the posts to learn. He said he wants his posts to be able to play the perimeter and inside. He’s just trying to get them versatile. It was a good workout learning wise. It was pretty fun.
(On having had the opportunity to work with Coach Brown while at Kansas)
It was fun. He came to the school a lot this year and talked to the team and talked to the coaches, just to motivate us to have a good year. I think it helped us out a lot. We changed some things in practice and some of the things we worked on today, we worked on at school, so it helped out a lot.
He came four or five times. He was in San Antonio with us and he came in the middle of the year a lot, so he was around a lot.
(On he difference between this workout and the others he has been to)
It was more learning. In other workouts, they just want you to go play. Coach Brown did a good job teaching us defensively and offensively what to do and where to be at. I thought it was better.
(On what he’s heard about his draft status)
I really haven’t heard anything. I’m just looking for feedback from different teams. My agent is trying to get the word and I’m just trying to see what spots I can fit in. I’m just trying to do my business and see how things go.
(On if winning a National Championship gives him an advantage)
It’s a great thing. Coach Self told us that if we win it all, we all can get a piece of the pie and we have (a lot) of guys coming out, so hopefully everyone can fit in.
(On the other places he has had workouts)
New Jersey, Seattle, Sacramento and I go to Indiana tomorrow. I think I (also) go to Philly. Philly and Washington have a workout thing planned.
(On what Coach Brown wanted to see from them today)
He wanted to see us explode and see how fast we can get to the rim off one dribble. He wanted to see how good we were defensively. He did a lot of teaching for us and let us know things would work in the NBA.
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