Matt Carroll knew he had something to prove entering his second in Charlotte.

He wanted to shed the potential “journeyman” label and prove he belonged with the Bobcats.

With an NBA resume including stints in New York’s training camp in 2003, 13 games with Portland and three games with San Antonio in the 2003-04 season and 25 games with Charlotte after winning the D-League Most Valuable Player award in 2004-05, he was well aware the task ahead of him wouldn’t be easy.

“When you look at it, there are only 450 spots available on the 30 teams in the NBA,” Carroll said. “You have to prove you deserve to hold down one of those spots. I had some down points, but the key part was just to keep hanging in there and keep working. I always knew I belonged in this league.”

In 2005-06 with the Bobcats, Carroll continued to prove it. He averaged 7.6 points and 2.0 rebounds in 16.3 minutes off the bench for the Bobcats in 78 games this season, including six starts in which he averaged 13.5 points and 1.50 steals in 29.0 minutes.

The 6-6, 212-pound guard also ranked second on the team in both three-point shooting (38.9 percent) and free-throw shooting (82.1 percent). Carroll scored a career-high 26 points on February 10 against Toronto and tallied double-figure scoring in 26 games.

“You’ve got to be very confident to play this game,” he said. “That’s one thing I realized, that it’s human nature for it to go up and down. There were points in time where I was getting a lot of playing time and points in time where I was waiting for my chance, but I always knew when my chances came I would do my best to make the most of them.”

Carroll proved to be ready when called upon and got stronger as the season progressed.

He averaged 12.2 points on 48.6 percent shooting from the field and 57.6 percent shooting from three-point range in nine games in April. He closed the season scoring in double-digits in five straight games while Charlotte ended the season on a four-game winning streak.

He also might have saved his best for last, leading the Bobcats with 24 points on 8-13 shooting, including 4-8 from three-point range in a 96-86 win over Philadelphia on April 19 in the season finale at Charlotte Bobcats Arena.

“It was a great way to end things, especially getting four in a row,” Carroll said after the game. “I’m feeling great about the way I’m playing, and it would be nice to get five (in a row) now if we could, but that’s how it is. Eighty-two games are a lot to play.

“This one was a little bit more special for me, too, and a great way to end the season. The game was on satellite back in Philadelphia, so all my family, all my friends, everybody I grew up with -- to get a chance to play in front of them and play well and get a win, it definitely means a lot to me.”

Thirteen days after completing his first full NBA season by leading the Bobcats to a win, things got even better for Carroll, as Charlotte announced on May 2 that it had picked up the team option on Carroll’s contract for 2006-07, meaning chances are good he will be back in a Bobcats uniform next season.

“It feels great,” Carroll said about having his option picked up. “After having so much uncertainty in my career coming out of college (at Notre Dame), it’s hard to explain what if feels like knowing that I might have finally found a place I can call home. My wife (Melanie) and I love it in Charlotte. It’s a small city, and it’s easy living down here.”

A lot easier for Carroll after a season in which he proved he belonged.