With the 2006 NBA Draft just three weeks away, you can’t blame Bobcats Director of Scouting Kenny “Eggman” Williamson if he seems a little anxious.

“I don’t think it’s the most fun time for me, but it’s the probably the most hectic time,” he said. “We’re looking at the combination of a years work coming down to that one day. But when that day comes, we will have done all our work and if our guy is available we will have no hesitation about our selection.”

However, getting to that point is the hard part.

Williamson and his staff of six scouts – Tim Shea, Frank Ross, Rick Weitzman and three independent contractors in California, Houston and New York, respectively – get to work the day after the NBA Draft, starting to compile information on next year’s potential draft picks, analyzing the summer’s free agents and hypothesizing on trades that could make the team better.

“With so many people gathering and analyzing so much information, we do bi-monthly conference calls to make sure we’re all staying on the same page,” Williamson said. “We can check each other’s scouting reports by computer so you can see what other people are thinking and how they are writing up their reports.”

So with over 30 years of basketball experience under his belt, what does Williamson look for and want his staff to look for when they are out scouting hundreds, if not thousands, of basketball players every year?

“Obviously, for a lot of people, athleticism stands out,” he said. “That’s the one thing that stands out noticeably. For me, I look at that obviously, but I tend to zone in on people who have what I call good basketball IQ -- who know how to play. There are a lot of guys in our league who are athletic, but what separates your great players from your good players are players that know how to play. It’s tough to find those guys who just seem to have an innate feel for the game.”

But it’s not just athleticism and high basketball IQ the Bobcats look for in potential players. They have been known to try to go after players with the most heart off of winning teams – something Williamson views as a potent combination.

“I think if you have a winning background – when guys are use to winning, they expect to win and they know what it takes to win,” he said. “On the bottom line, it’s heart and hard work. Everybody cannot carry or cannot handle the pressure that comes with being part of the elite. Some people struggle with it, other people embrace it, and other people stay away from it all together. And the great players tend to be able to juggle all those things. Those are the players we’re trying to find.”

The Bobcats search has continued in draft workouts the past week. Players like Adam Morrison, Rudy Gay and Rodney Carney to name a few, have been brought in and pushed them to their limits to see how they can handle what is beginning to earn the reputation as one of the NBA’s toughest workouts.

“We have a set group of things that we do to get a measure of your overall skill, your overall basketball ability, and we also want to see some things about you agility wise,” Williamson said. “Our workout is probably unlike any other in the league. Prior to touching the basketball in our workouts, you do 45 minutes of agility and stress-type things. If you are not in great shape, it will show, but it will also show the strengths of certain players."

After four days of workouts, Charlotte has put things on hold for the time being as the Bobcats coaching staff and scouts are currently in Orlando for the Pre-Draft Camp until Saturday. However, Williamson said fans should look for workouts to continue after the camp as Charlotte’s staff continues its search for the Bobcats next first round draft pick.

“We probably won’t know who we’re taking for sure until Monday (June 26) because we will be arguing back and forth,” he laughed. “(Bobcats General Manager and Head Coach) Bernie (Bickerstaff) is really great at playing devil’s advocate, even though it’s in his head already. He might be on board with you about some stuff, but he’s always throwing out different stuff. When you think you’ve got it settled, then bang, he doubles you up on one of those solar plexus shots. Then you’re back at it -- it’s a good thing though. You want to have some back-and-forth banter, and we always have that.”