Backstage with Bernie: Training Camp, Day 3
October 5, 2006

The Bobcats hit the court for their third day of practice at Trask Coliseum on the campus of UNC Wilmington in Wilmington, NC, on Thursday. General Manager & Head Coach Bernie Bickerstaff had this to say following the third day of practice:

(On the remaining training camp schedule)
We had several guys injured in the evening session last night. Five guys were going to be out, which is why we had a short practice. They’ve been going well; they came to camp in good condition. Today is going to be our last two-a-day, and this morning we did circuit training. We’ll practice tomorrow, Saturday and then have the scrimmage on Sunday. This is what they have earned because of the way that they came into training camp in terrific condition. We have some guys that are banged up, so there’s no need to continue to create problems.

(On the injuries)
Melvin (Ely) is getting an MRI this morning. The other guys just have bruises. Gerald (Wallace) has a thigh bruise from someone’s knee. We held Emeka (Okafor) out and Alan (Anderson) out this morning. But they are all going to go this evening. Primoz (Brezec) is getting an IV. He has a viral problem. So that’s the five guys.

(On Matt Carroll)
I think he’s terrific. He shoots and creates space for us. Matt’s a good player. He’s a contributor who does a lot of different things. But the one thing that he really does is create space for us.

(On the change in Carroll from last year to this year)
Yeah, his hair is much longer (laughs). I think he’s more confident, and he’s more familiar with what we do and with his teammates.

(On Raymond Felton)
I think he has more confidence. He’s had some success. Raymond is just that type of guy – he’s a confident guy.

(On Felton’s playoff predictions)
He does that every year. But now he’s got to deliver and contribute to it. It has to be a collective effort.

(On Walter Hermann)
We saw the same thing in him that he’s bringing to this team. He’s a guy who shoots the ball well. He’s been part of a situation that’s been successful. If you watch that Argentinean basketball team, their execution is great. We saw him a couple of years ago. He’s a guy that can put the ball in the basket, and he works hard. His perimeter shooting is what we originally saw in him.