Felton And Morrison Impress In Rookie Challenge

LAS VEGAS – Raymond Felton was there to finish what Adam Morrison started.

Felton and his Sophomore squad handed Morrison and the Rookies a 155-114 thumping at the 2007 T-Mobile Rookie Challenge & Youth Jam on Friday in Las Vegas.

“This was all about getting a win,” Felton said. “We didn’t want to be the team to end this winning streak. It’s five in a row now, so we got it done.”

While many fans’ interest might have waned after seeing the Sophomores jump out to a 77-48 halftime lead on their way to the rout, Charlotte fans had to enjoy the game-within-the-game between their two up-and-coming stars.

Felton finished with 17 points on 7-9 shooting from the field, including 3-5 three-pointers, six assists and three rebounds in the winning effort, while Morrison fell just short of matching his teammate with 16 points on 6-8 shooting from the field and 2-2 shooting from outside the arc.

Morrison and Felton managed to avoid each other until the 10:38 mark of the first half, when the Bobcats rookie backed down his elder teammate and hit a 16-foot turnaround jumper over him to cut the lead to 34-20.

“He can hit that shot – no question, and you can’t stop it,” Felton admitted. “He’s 6-8 and can fade away, so he’s going to make that shot. I didn’t even try to go for it. I just let him shoot it, and hopefully he’d miss it.”

Morrison made it, and with each passing make his confidence grew. He finished the first half with 11 points on 5-6 shooting to lead the Rookies, and despite seeing Felton finish the first half with 12 points of his own, issued a challenge to his Charlotte teammate in the second half.

“Yeah, he said something to me. I came in the game and he put it upon himself to come guard me,” Felton said. “He said, ‘I got you now. I’m not about to give you buckets.’ I said, ‘As soon as I get this ball, I’m going to score on you,’ and as soon as I got it, I scored on him.”

Felton buried the three over Morrison to put the Sophomore’s up 105-65, and Morrison began to realize he might have spoken too soon.

“When I was guarding him up top, I told him not to get a screen, and he got a screen and hit the three, so there was nothing I could have done about that,” Morrison said. “He’d been talking trash the whole week. I guess I was just expecting it and started a little bit early. But he’s been talking trash from Day One when we found out we were going, so I had to do something.”

With Felton yapping in Morrison’s ear the whole way down the court on the ensuing possession, the Bobcats rookie responded by posting Felton up and drawing the foul on him. He stepped to the line and hit both free throws as the teammates shared a laugh.

“Yeah, I fouled him. I tried to reach for the ball and got his arm – I admit it,” Felton smiled. “He went to the line and knocked down two shots. From there I told him I wasn’t going to even come at him because I didn’t want to do him like that.

“That’s what it’s all about (just having fun). You try to be serious and play the game, but at the same time, you have to have fun. This is All-Star Weekend. You can’t treat it as a real game because it doesn’t count, but at the same time you’ve got to go out there and just play basketball.”

In the end, it was Felton who had the last laugh as the Sophomores coasted to the victory, and the second-year guard who will have bragging rights in the Bobcats locker room when the two return to Charlotte on Sunday.

“We’re in Vegas, but there was no wager (on who would win),” Felton said. I’m not going to mess with him too much – just a little bit of bragging rights and talking a little junk to him, but that’s it.”

For Morrison, who is the ultimate competitor, that might be the hardest thing to deal with.

“It’s going to be a lot (of grief),” he said. “These games can often be like this. I wish we would have competed a little bit better, but hopefully I’ll be here on the Sophomore side next year and be able to do that to the Rookie team.”

Having earned the last word with his individual and team performance, Felton believes if Morrison returns next season to play for the Sophomores, he’ll have a great chance to earn retribution as the second-year stars go for six wins in a row.

“If they keep stacking the teams like they did this year with our sophomore team – no way (the rookies will end the streak),” Felton laughed.