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Atlanta and Charlotte will open the 2004 Revue at 4:00 p.m. ET on July 16. The Bobcats are scheduled to play seven games during the tournament, with 35 games scheduled overall. NBATV is scheduled to televise a number of games, including three Bobcats games on July 20 vs. Indiana, July 22 vs. Chicago and July 24 vs. Utah.
 Loren Woods and the Bobcats open play in Utah on Thursday. |
July 16 - Charlotte vs. Atlanta - 4:00 p.m.
July 17 - Charlotte vs. San Antonio - 4:00 p.m.
July 18 - Charlotte vs. Seattle - 8:00 p.m.
July 19 - Bye
July 20 - Charlotte vs. Indiana - 8:00 p.m. (NBATV)
July 21 - Charlotte vs. Dallas - 10:00 p.m.
July 22 - Charlotte vs. Chicago - 8:00 p.m. (NBATV)
July 23 - Charlotte vs. Utah - 10:00 p.m. (NBATV)
Free agent Jason Hart was in Charlotte on Monday to visit with the Bobcats basketball staff. The 6-3, 185-pound point guard spent the last two seasons with the San Antonio Spurs. He averaged 3.3 points, 1.5 assists, 1.5 rebounds and 12.5 minutes in 53 games a year ago.
“We just brought him in to let him tour the city,” said Bickerstaff. “One thing I really like about the young man is that he really studies the game. He has a good understanding of the defensive concepts, understands the guy that he is guarding and knows who he should get the ball to so as not to compromise his teammates. We like his basketball I.Q.”
Teams can begin signing free agents on Wednesday.
The Bobcats wrapped up play in the Minnesota Summer League last week with a perfect 5-0 record. Several players turned in impressive statistical performances led by Gerald Wallace’s 16.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.8 steals and 2.2 assists per game. The 6-7, 215-pound forward saved his best for the final two games of the event when he averaged 26.0 points, 9.5 rebounds and 4.5 steals in victories over Philadelphia and Detroit.
Free agent center Loren Woods averaged 10.0 points and 9.4 rebounds per outing, while shooting 62.5 percent from the field. He also saved his best for the final game with a 16-point, 16-rebound performance against the Pistons.
“The team really just played so well together that it kind of helped me play well,” said Woods. “All the guys were looking out for one another. We all just made a commitment to go out and play hard for the summer league. If you go out, play hard, have fun and play together, good things are going to happen.”
General Manager & Head Coach Bernie Bickerstaff added veteran hoops coach Jeff Capel to his coaching staff last week. He joins the Bobcats after serving two-plus seasons as head coach of the Fayetteville Patriots in the National Basketball Development League. Prior to the NBDL, Capel spent 12 years as a head coach at the collegiate level at Old Dominion, North Carolina A&T and Fayetteville State, with a combined record of 201-162 (.554).
“He’s a really good basketball guy,” said Bickerstaff. “He just brings a wealth of basketball knowledge to the staff. He has had outstanding success as a coach at each of his stops.”
Free agent guard Corey Benjamin continued to impress the Bobcats coaching staff during the Minnesota Summer League. He will stay with the team through this week’s mini-camp and the Reebok Rocky Mountain Revue in Utah.
“We think he’s earned an opportunity,” said Bickerstaff. “He’s got NBA experience and I like his athleticism. I like the ability that he has to get out and play defense when he is inclined. When you think about how far he has come (defensively), when you saw him out of high school or at Oregon State, he’s made great improvements. Maybe he understands what time it is. If he’s going to play, just the offensive things aren’t good enough.”
Benjamin averaged 7.4 points and 1.8 rebounds in 17.2 minutes per game in Minnesota.
“I’m going to try my hardest to do whatever I have to do to stick,” said Benjamin. “I’m going out every day, playing hard and giving it everything I’ve got. I’ve had to start from the bottom and work my way back up. It’s made me a better person and made me have a better work ethic.”
Gerald Wallace and Tamar Slay will not participate in the Reebok Rocky Mountain Revue so that the Bobcats can take a look at some of the other players who are under contract that they chose in the Expansion Selection. Among those will be 7-1, 252-pound center Primoz Brezec, who played the last three years with the Indiana Pacers after being chosen with the 27th overall pick in the 2000 NBA Draft from Slovenia.
“He’s got good size and seems to have a nice touch,” said Bickerstaff after seeing Brezec in practice on Monday. “We offered him a lot of little things today and he picked them up quickly. I really like that.”
Also in camp is 6-11, 235-pound forward/center Jamal Sampson, who was selected off the Los Angeles Lakers roster. He is recovering from an ankle injury that cut his season short last year and it will be determined later in the week if he will be on the roster for the summer league games in Utah.
“Sampson did a few things today,” said Bickerstaff. “We definitely don’t want to push it, we’ll leave it up to the trainers. They allowed him to do some halfcourt things, some running and just familiarizing himself with our different schemes. We will not push anybody who has any kind of injury. We want to let them heal.”