Backstage With JB Bickerstaff: Summer Wrapup Part I
Return to Orlando Summer League Index | Summer Wrapup Part II
The Bobcats wrapped up yet another successful summer league in Orlando last week, posting a 3-2 record against Chicago, Indiana, Miami, New Jersey and the host Magic. It marked the fourth time in the last three years Charlotte has posted the best record or tied for the best record in its summer league. As has become tradition for the Bobcats over the past three summers, they continued to rack up the accolades, with Adam Morrison (24.6 points, 2.0 assists) and Sean May (18.6 points, 5.2 rebounds) both being named to the All-League Team. BobcatsBasketball.com checked in with Coach John-Blair Bickerstaff to get his take on the team’s performance in Orlando, May’s return to the court and Morrison’s professional debut in the first of a two-part series that continues Tuesday.
(On players from last season stepping up in the summer league)
(On Sean May’s performance)
(On May refusing to take a break and sit out a game)
(On Adam Morrison living up to expectations)
(On Morrison showing he will be able to get his shot in this league)
July 17, 2006
(On the Bobcats summer league performance)
I think things went pretty well. I think we learned a lot about the capabilities that we have on this team. We’ve been able to find their strength, whether it is Adam Morrison, Sean May, Kevin Burleson and those guys. And even that one game where Raymond Felton was here -- I think that gave us even more of a comfort level on the difference and the impact he makes on a basketball game.
It means they are prepared. We have expectations in guys, and we have a belief in all the guys on our basketball team. It validates your belief in those guys because not only have they been good, but they’ve been special here. I think you look at a guy who contributes and that’s one thing -- the guy who stands out is another. And Sean (May) definitely did that; Raymond (Felton) did that the one day he was here; Adam (Morrison) continued to do it; and Alan (Anderson), while he was healthy and playing, did it. So I think it just goes to validate what we feel. We feel like we have a very young but talented team, and we think we can be pretty deep with a bunch of youthful guys.
We saw this last summer with Sean. Sean was the MVP (at the Reebok Rocky Mountain Revue) last year, and we knew what he could do. We knew his capability, but he was just slowed down by that injury. So what Sean has been able to do is take that time off to help his body and his conditioning and not only be as good as he was when he was hurt, but now he’s even better. Before he was an okay three-point shooter, now he’s a pretty good three-point shooter. He has a better understanding of when to do things -- when to go to the post up, when to step outside for the jump shot and his screen-and-roll game, which I think is the base of every offense in the NBA, has become really good. He understands when to set the screen, when to slip, and now he’s shown great leadership with this group here too. He’s that kind of guy on the floor -- he’s putting guys in the right position.
I don’t see Sean as that kind of guy to take things off. I think whenever he gets an opportunity to play basketball he’s going to want to play. That’s one of the things that’s key to our success in the future is that we have a bunch of guys that love to play basketball. They aren’t just playing for a paycheck, they honestly love to play basketball and if they weren’t playing here in the summer they’d be playing somewhere. So I think that helps us from your young guys to your top guys to your best players, if those guys are that way then everyone is forced to be that way. I think it makes us a stronger team, and it obviously helps guys improve what we are doing. It says a lot about what Sean did while he was hurt that he was able to play all these games in a row, play quality minutes and have quality performances.
He has exceeded the things that I thought he would be able to do right now. I knew he could score the ball, but I didn’t know he could score the ball in so many ways. And not only that, you get a better appreciation for him just being around him. Watching and listening to the things he says in the locker room and on the floor, you know and how competitive he is. We lost a game (on Thursday) and he was the first one in the locker room talking about let’s finish this thing strong. And for a guy to come in, who’s brand new to this, and to say that to guys who have been around and feel comfortable enough in a leadership position already is one thing, but for guys to respond is another. And I think that’s one of the things -- his teammates believe in him. His teammates have automatically given him that respect of the guy who wants to win. And it’s not a matter of him yelling and screaming and pointing fingers, he’s leading by example. He competes every possession. He competes every time he’s on the floor, and guys follow that and respect that. When you produce the way that he has produced, you earn the right to say different things, to command the ball and things like that -- I think that’s one of the things his teammates will love about him. He’s going to love his teammates too, because he’s got some guys with the same spirit and the same fire that he’s got. I think our team is full of those guys, and that is one of the reasons why we’ve been able to be so competitive. Now we are looking to take that next step as an organization.
Yeah, there’s no question about that. He’s not doing it against guys who haven’t played in this league before, he’s doing it against everybody. He’s doing it against different kinds of defenses -- you know they are throwing different of things at him and he’s doing it. These guys are athletic, they are quick, they are good defenders, so he’s not doing it against rec league players. He’s doing it against capable NBA players, and I think that just goes to show that this guy can score points -- he figures different ways to do it, which I think is the key to his success. He’s not a one-dimensional scorer. He’s the type of guy who can get buckets different types of ways, and that makes him even harder to defend.
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