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BOBCATS ROOKIES ON NBA ACCESS The show will go all-access with four members of the 2005 NCAA Men’s Championship team from the University of North Carolina that featured Felton, May and former Tar Heels teammates, Atlanta’s Marvin Williams and Minnesota’s Rashad McCants. In addition, the show will discuss their individual ups and downs of being a rookie, the transition to professional basketball, and their decision to forego the remaining years of their college careers for the NBA.
HOME COOKING
BREZEC DOESN’T EXPECT TO GO “In the game in Memphis, I think there was five minutes left and I just kind of got locked up and couldn’t move,” Brezec said after shootaround. “(Head Athletic Trainer) Joe Sharpe helped me out and I was able to continue the game, but after that it wasn’t too good. Yesterday I wasn’t able to go and I had to sit out today, but it’s getting better. I’ll be ready to go Friday against Chicago. I’m getting treatment for my back and making progress.” With Brezec sidelined, expect to see Jake Voskuhl into the starting lineup for the second time this season, giving the Bobcats their 26th different starting lineup of the season – second in the league to New York and its 37 different lineups.
With guard Brevin Knight sidelined for tonight’s contest against Orlando, Alan Anderson will move into the starting lineup for the first time this season. “He’s been a good teammate,” Head Coach Bernie Bickerstaff said of Anderson after today’s shootaround. “I think pretty much everybody on this team has had a chance to play, and I want to get Alan a chance to play.” Anderson will join Raymond Felton, Bernard Robinson, Gerald Wallace and Primoz Brezec in the starting five, giving the Bobcats their 23rd starting lineup of the 2005-06 season, tying them with Toronto for second-most in the league. New York tops the NBA with 37 different starting combinations this season. “I talked about it two weeks ago, that I wanted to get the chance to give these guys the opportunity in this situation,” Bickerstaff said. “It’s not anything that’s personal. I just want to create an opportunity for guys who have been good teammates and could be integral parts of our basketball team. The best opportunity is to put them out here on the floor and let them play -- give them an opportunity under fire.”
KNIGHT NOT EXPECTED TO GO TUESDAY “I doubt it,” Bickerstaff said of Knight playing on Tuesday. “I’m not opposed to holding Brevin out a couple games… I want to get a chance to look at some of the younger guys, so I’m not opposed to holding him out for a couple games or so.” With Knight out, expect rookie Raymond Felton to move back to the starting point guard position, with Kareem Rush, Matt Carroll, Kevin Burleson and Alan Anderson all potentially seeing extra time in the Bobcats backcourt. “I’m expecting to get more time at the point, and I’m excited about that,” Felton said. “I love to have the ball in my hands, but at the same time, we’re going to miss Brevin. I look forward to playing with these guys that I’m probably going to be playing with five or six years from now - Alan (Anderson), K.B. (Kevin Burleson), Matt (Carroll), Gerald (Wallace) and all the guys, so it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
CAPTAINS ABSENT Knight missed the second half of practice with a sore groin, while Wallace was held out of the entire practice to get treatment on his sprained left ankle. Bobcats Head Athletic Trainer Joe Sharpe wanted to give Wallace two days of rest on the ankle heading into Saturday’s game. Wallace is listed as probable on the Bobcats injury report, while Knight is not listed.
MAY BANGING INSIDE “On the outside of my knee, (the pain) has been very minimal,” May said. “The pain that I’ve had is patella tendonitis, and that is just from being inactive and over time with the rehab stuff that we do -- it will go away. It (knee) is reacting pretty well -- minimal, slowly, a little bit every now and again, but it’s getting better.”
BICKERSTAFF’S MARCH MADNESS BEGINS He’s got back-to-back games in Charlotte and Washington against the Wizards tonight and Wednesday and will then hit the road to scout the 2006 NCAA Tournament. “From Washington (on Wednesday) I’m going to Salt Lake City,” Bickerstaff said after today’s shootaround. “I leave Salt Lake City and head back to Dallas on Friday. We’re back here (to play Detroit) Saturday, and I’m in Philadelphia Sunday.” Bickerstaff will be seeing some of college basketball’s best teams along the way. On Thursday he’ll have the opportunity to see Gonzaga and Boston College play in their respective games at the Jon. M Huntsman Center. Both Memphis and Texas will be playing first round games at American Airlines Center in Dallas on Friday. Then, on Sunday, he’ll more than likely get to see UConn and Villanova in their individual second-round games. “I’m just rolling with the punches. It’s something you need to do,” Bickerstaff said. “You grab a little shut-eye on the plane or whenever you can, but I think it’s something that’s needed. You need to do it. They’re good matchups with solid players.”
ROCK, CHALK, JAYHAWK “I’m not surprised at all that they got a four-seed,” Kareem Rush said. “They’ve always been talented, but I knew it was going to take some time for them to mesh together with all those young guys -- it was just a matter of them putting it all together. Winning the Big XII was a huge accomplishment. I knew they were going to get a high seed after that and I’m excited for him to get his opportunity to get into the tournament.” Rush also thinks having a starting lineup that consists of three freshman and two sophomores will work to the Jayhawks advantage. “Because they are so young, I don’t think there’s a lot of pressure on them to go out there and make it to the Final Four,” he said. “They’re going to be happy wherever they are, but they have a nice bracket that they could go far it, so I’m looking forward to watching them play. I still see them making the Final Four, though.”
MAY-DAY, MAY-DAY Emeka Okafor and Jake Voskuhl -- former Huskies -- see UConn going all the way. Former Tar Heel Raymond Felton believes North Carolina will defend its 2005 National Title, and chances are good that Alan Anderson expects Michigan State to get the job done against the Tar Heels in the second round. But the biggest surprise might come from 2005 Final Four MVP Sean May who doesn’t think North Carolina will go all the way. He thinks the Tar Heels will be eliminated by Connecticut in the Elite Eight and the Huskies will go on to win the National Championship. “(UConn) just has too much depth and are too big up front,” May said after today’s shootaround. “Hopefully we can start hitting some threes though and give them a game.”
WALLACE READY TO ROLL He is expected to be in Charlotte’s starting lineup tonight, as long as there are no unexpected setbacks. “Yeah, it looks like (he’ll go),” Bickerstaff said. “We’re just going to see what (Head Athletic Trainer) Joe (Sharpe) wants to do. The problem is that it’s been tight, so we’ll have to wait and see how it goes tonight.”
The Bobcats got good news on Monday, as Gerald Wallace was back on the practice court and expects to be ready for Tuesday’s game with Washington. He is listed as probable on Charlotte’s injury report. “I’m feeling good,” Wallace said after practice. “I got my calf muscle loosened up. I came in early and got some treatment and it started to get loose. I was out here today running and trying to see how I felt, and I felt great today.” Wallace played just three minutes in Detroit on Sunday before heading to the sidelines, but the injury didn’t actually happen against the Pistons. “I caught a cramp in my calf muscle in the Miami game (on March 6), and it just hadn’t loosened up,” he said. “We got it good enough where I was playing, but it just kept tightening up. Last night I made a move on the baseline and couldn’t jump or explode to the rim, so they just told me to rest it a day.” He did, and is hoping the calf strain isn’t something that will continue to stick with him as the season winds down. “I hope it’s not nagging,” he said. “Hopefully we can get my calf muscle loosened up and give the muscles a chance to relax and it will heal pretty good. “I didn’t prepare this year to play the four, so I’ve taken a lot of beatings down there with the four-men. My body just isn’t holding up for it, but this summer I’m going to prepare for the guards and the big men, so coming in next year I’ll be prepared for this.”
FELTON FEELING BETTER “It’s a little sore, but I’ll be okay,” he said. “Hopefully I’ll be ready to go tonight.” Knowing Felton’s knack for playing through pain this season, chances are good he’ll be a go when the game against Golden State tips off, and Felton has an idea on what needs to be done to stop the Warriors. “We have to stop them from getting transition buckets and getting the ball down the court quickly to Jason Richardson,” he said. “That’s who I’m guarding tonight.” It won’t be an easy defensive matchup for Felton. Richardson is currently playing some of his best basketball this season. He scored a career-high-tying 42 points last night in Atlanta and is averaging 33.0 points in his last five games. “Basically, we have to try and keep the ball out of his hands,” Felton said. “When he posts up, my teammates will dip down to try and help me out a little bit. I just have to try and stay in front of him when he goes up for the jumper. He can shoot it and is 6-6 on top of it and can elevate. I just have to try and get my hand in his face to contest his shot.”
MAY’S WORKLOAD INCREASING “They add a little more (he can do) every day,” Head Coach Bernie Bickerstaff said after Tuesday’s practice. “They said he could get in some of the drills today and could do some running -- non-contact stuff.”
FELTON SIDELINED WITH ABDOMINAL PAIN “I don’t know (if he’ll be okay),” Bickerstaff said. “We held him out today with the abs. If you remember he had the strain (after the car accident), so it’s been hurting him for a while. “He likes to play through things, but sometimes it’s better (to rest). What’s important is to be ready to go Wednesday again.”
HOME SWEET HOME “We always say this first game back is like an extension of the road trip,” Bickerstaff said after Monday’s shootaround. “This may be a little better because of the way they set the trip up in terms of the time factor, because Dallas (the last game of the road trip) was only a one-hour difference. But the problem more than the time factor is the fact that we’re playing Miami.” Although one might expect the Bobcats to be shaking off the effects of jetlag from their recent stretch, the Bobcats haven’t shown signs of weakness or exhaustion the last two days in practice and shootaround. “The guys have looked good, but I think it’s fool’s gold,” Bickerstaff said. “You have to be careful when you come back off the road. The energy level in the last two days has been too good as far as I’m concerned, so I’m a little concerned about that.”
ROBINSON’S STATUS IN QUESTION “I don’t really know (if he’ll go),” Bickerstaff said. “It’s something with his stomach. Joe just called in and said his stomach was upset, so we’ll see what happens.”
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