2011 Bobcats Predraft Workouts - Day 1

Bobcats Predraft Workouts Day 1
June 2, 2011

2011 Bobcats Draft Central | Predraft Workout Gallery Day 1 | Markieff Morris Profile | Kenneth Faried Profile | Demontez Stitt Profile | LaMarshall Corbett Profile | Gary Flowers Profile | Alex Stepheson Profile | Head Coach Paul Silas Interview | Markieff Morris Interview | Kenneth Faried Interview | Demontez Stitt Interview | LaMarshall Corbett Interview | Markieff Morris Dunking Drill | Kenneth Faried Dunking Drill | Alex Stepheson Dunking Drill

The Bobcats began their intensive 2011 NBA Draft preparation Thursday morning at the Time Warner Cable Arena® practice facility by working out Markieff Morris (Kansas), Kenneth Faried (Morehead State), Gary Flowers (Southern Mississippi), Alex Stepheson (University of Southern California), Demontez Stitt (Clemson) and LaMarshall Corbett (Angelo State) in front of the coaching staff, team scouts and even Bobcats Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Michael Jordan.

Markieff Morris averaged 13.6 ppg, 8.3 rpg and 1.1 bpg in his three seasons at Kansas University. Leading Kansas in rebounding, Markieff was selected for the second-team All-Big 12 and was also awarded a selection to the Big 12 All-Tournament team.

Kenneth Faried spent four years at Morehead State, racking up 1,643 career rebounds, including leading the NCAA in rebounds for two consecutive seasons. He was also selected as the Ohio Valley Conference’s Player of the Year for the second time as well. Averaging a double-double with 17.3 ppg and 14.5 rpg, he helped lead the Eagles to a first-round upset victory over fourth-seeded Louisville.

Demontez Stitt is a Charlotte native and played basketball for four years at Clemson University, starting for the Tigers for three seasons. In his senior season, he averaged 14.5 ppg, 3.3 apg, 4.3 rpg and 1.4 spg, leading Clemson in scoring and assists. He was also named third-team All-ACC and first-team All-ACC Tournament.

LaMarshall Corbett played two seasons at Angelo State University before entering the draft after his senior season. His junior season, he averaged 23.4 ppg, 2.5 rpg and 2.6 apg while shooting 47.6% from beyond the arc. He was awarded with Second-Team Division II All-American honors, the Lone Star Conference defensive player of the year and he led the conference in scoring and three-point percentage. That year, he also ranked nationally in free-throw percentage (third), three-point percentage (fourth) and scoring (seventh). In only 12 games his senior season, Corbett averaged 20.1 ppg, 4.5 rpg and 1.8 apg.

Gary Flowers became the first Southern Mississippi Golden Eagle to win the Cellular South Howell Trophy, which is awarded to the top collegiate basketball player in Mississippi. Not only leading Southern Miss in points and rebounds with 19 ppg and 7.8 rpg in his senior season, Flowers was fifth in Conference USA in blocks with 1.4 bpg. He was also picked to the C-USA All-Conference First Team in his final year at Southern Miss.

Alex Stepheson enters the draft having played four season in the NCAA; two for the University of North Carolina and two for the University of Southern California after he transferred. He averaged 9.8 ppg, 9.2 rpg and 1.1 bpg while shooting 55.2% from the field.

(On the workout)
The workout was good. We had six guys: four big guys, two small guys and we did a lot of drills, good competition, one-on-one, three-on-three, up and down the court, a lot of shooting – very good.

(On the small guys)
They looked good. It’s kind of difficult to tell, when you’re not in a five-on-five situation, but one-on-one, they were good; pick and roll, they were good. You know, we’ll see. […] I like what happened today; they really worked hard. […] I told them even before the workouts we were looking at two things, basically – the mental aspect: could they do the drills and so forth; and then the physical aspect: how athletic they were and how determined they were to play well.

(On Kenneth Faried)
Great rebounder, not a great shooter, but defender. So we’ll just have to see. I watched some tape on him and he plays very, very well. But a guy like him, you’d rather see him at the three than the four. We’ll have to see how it goes.

(On Demontez Stitt)
I thought he played very well today. You know, [he] played hard, shooting the ball much better than people have thought, at least I think so. And he’s only going to get better. As guys get into this league, they become better shooters. His defense was great. He really hustled and I was pleasantly surprised that he did as well as he did today. He did a great job.

(On Michael being a part of this process)
Well, I don’t think there’s that many nerves, to tell you the truth. I think it’s more excitement that he’s around and he’s around observing these guys and I think it’s very beneficial to them because when he comes.

Morris Profile | Video Interview | Dunking Drill

(On the workout)
It was a good workout: a lot of competing, a lot of shooting – just a good workout. I was nervous my first workout in Houston, but after that, I’m used to them now. It’s easy, you just have to compete and go hard. That’s the main thing. […] I played hard. I mean, I missed a couple shots, but you miss shots and I just competed and that was the main thing.

(On working out in front of Michael Jordan)
I felt it when he came in the gym. You know, I just felt his greatness when he came in; I just felt it the whole time. [on what greatness feels like:] The lights brighten and you just feel like, on your back – you just feel like somebody’s there.

(On his style)
Like Rasheed Wallace back-to-the-basket, but I can also put it on the floor and shoot threes. I’m a rebounder and defender.

Faried Profile | Video Interview | Dunking Drill

(On the workout)
I think it went really well. Just the intensity, the group of guys we played against – it just felt real good and everybody was pulling for each other, nobody was badmouthing, nobody was disrespectful, everybody just wanted each other to succeed.

(On his skill set)
I think no matter what, I have to keep convincing people and keep proving myself. So it’s just a process that I’ll have to go through because of my height, because I went to a small school, just a lot of negatives against me, but I turn them into positives and make them work for myself.

(On how it feels to be working out in front of Michael Jordan)
I was actually nervous – extremely nervous. This is my first official workout with a team so just being in his presence, I mean – Michael Jordan, I got his sneakers on right now, so I can’t really say nothing else about it. But he’s just a great guy and he seemed really humble and appreciative of us coming, so I just respect him for that and just meeting him is a good feeling.

(On how prepared he was for the workout)
It’s just a normal day in the office for me.

(On what he aims to do to prove himself)
Play hard, play physical, don’t be intimidated by people, the lights or the negative or positive media; just stay focused on my goals.

Stitt Profile | Video Interview

(On the workout)
It was fun. We had some really talented guys out here alongside me and we had fun. It was a tough workout; I think we did some drills that I had never done in college and so coming out here and finally meeting some of the coaches and some of the other players. […] Coming out here today and finally getting some shots up with the coaches here helping us out is real fun. It’s a different experience.

(On how this tryout for the hometown team is special)
It’s a little bit more significant, more special because this is my hometown and I would love to play here. So, this workout was my first one also, so it also had a bigger significance of being the first one and being the groundbreaker. I think this one is really important for me.

(On working out in front of Michael Jordan)
It’s kind of nerve-wracking at first, but after a while, you forget that he’s there and you’re just working out with the other players and competing. It’s nice to meet him and the other coaches after the workout. After watching him so much on TV and finally getting to meet him was exciting.

(On the NBA dream)
Oh man, it’s the biggest dream. This is what all of us grew up wanting to do, especially for myself. I always grew up watching the NBA, watching the ACC and to play in the ACC was one of my goals. I did that, and now to make the NBA is another one of my goals, and to play in my hometown would be even better, so we’ll see how it goes.

(On his skills translating to the NBA)
I would say in the NBA, the game is a lot quicker. I think I’m one of the quicker players coming out of college. I tried to prove it here today. I think at the next level my quickness and getting to the hole and being able to create my own shot is going to be key for me.

Corbett Profile | Video Interview

(On the workout)
I played pretty hard. I feel I performed pretty good. To get back in the gym and finally play against good, competitive guys, I felt I did pretty good.

(On playing against Demontez)
He was a great player. I think I played against him a while back when we were young, in AAU basketball. He has developed a lot. He’s a great basketball player, can shoot the ball, he’s quick and can pass.

(On working out in front of Michael Jordan)
A little pressure, but at the same time, you got to play basketball. Knowing Mike is in the gym evaluating you, you got to play your game regardless of who’s in the gym.