Morrison Makes Most Of Summer Session

By MATT ROCHINSKI
bobcatsbasketball.com
July 10, 2007

Box Score | Heat Recap | Stats | Roster | Schedule

ORLANDO – When new Bobcats Head Coach Sam Vincent first approached Adam Morrison about participating in the 2007 Orlando Summer League, Morrison didn’t have to give it a second thought.

With teammates Raymond Felton, Ryan Hollins and Alan Anderson having already committed to play, Morrison knew this would be a prime opportunity to take the court with his running mates and have the first chance to see how they would fit into Vincent’s new system.

“It’s always good to get out here when you’re dealing with a new coach and a new system, so when (Vincent) asked me to come out here, I was happy,” Morrison said after Tuesday’s game against the Chicago Bulls. “This stuff is fun – to come out in the summer and just play and have a good time.”

Always the ultimate competitor, Morrison was also hoping to help lead the Bobcats to a perfect 5-0 record in Orlando – something Charlotte fell short of with their 92-80 loss to the Bulls on Tuesday. But it wasn’t for a lack of effort on Morrison’s part.

Playing without Raymond Felton (whom the Bobcats coaching staff opted to play just one game), Morrison finished with a team-high 17 points on 6-11 shooting and added three rebounds and three assists in the loss. He wrapped up his two-game summer league experience averaging 15.5 points on 47.1 percent (8-17) shooting from the field and 82.4 percent (14-17) from the free throw line, while tacking on 4.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists and helping the Bobcats to a 1-1 record.

It may just be two summer league games, but Morrison made it evident on Tuesday that he is excited to put Vincent’s system into play in the 2007-08 season.

“This summer league went okay for me personally, and obviously we would have liked to win (Tuesday), but it was good for us to get out here early and get used to each other, Coach Vincent and the system,” he said. “I think the new system is definitely going to help my game. Coach gives us a little more room to go out there and fire a little bit. There’s a lot of movement, which is good for me and what I like to do.”

Vincent is fully aware of what Morrison can bring to the table offensively, but he was also hoping to see something more from the second-year wingman, and feels he delivered.

“I like what Adam has been doing,” he said. “I think defensively, he’s really been trying to get after it. We all know that Adam is a great offensive scorer, but the area that we want to see Adam be better in is defensively. I think he’s accepting that as a challenge. He’s come out and tried to play a little bit tougher and following the defensive assignments we’ve given him, so it’s a steady progress. He has to continue to get better, but the main thing is that he’s putting forth the effort and really working at it.

“I think Adam probably didn’t finish the (2006-07) season the way he wanted to. He was struggling a little bit with his shot and his confidence was down. I thought this summer was good because it gave him the chance to regroup, and now he’s back early with us working hard and playing well. This is a new year for Adam. We feel good about him, and as his confidence gets higher and he continues to work, we expect him to have a good season.”

One thing has been clear in Orlando – Morrison seems to have his swagger back and has embraced the opportunity to not only improve his game, but to help the newest Bobcats prepare for their first NBA season.

“I think having real NBA games under your belt helps,” he said. “The nervousness is gone once you’ve already been through a summer league and been through a season. It just kind of frees you up to not worry about things and just go out and play.

“That’s why I think it’s good to get some veterans out here for this. It was good for me having Sean (May) and Raymond (Felton) out here last year to kind of learn the ropes and understand what is expected of you. Hopefully our young guys feel the same way about me and Raymond.”

After one week of mini-camp and a few days in Orlando, Vincent knows it was Morrison and Felton who set the tone on and off the court.

“Those guys came in and got things going at mini-camp. They came in, practiced twice a day and brought a lot of effort in, and continued to do so here,” Vincent said. “It was good to have them a part of what we were doing early on and meet some of the young guys, especially Jared (Dudley) and Jermareo (Davidson). That was important and they did a great job with it. It’s just nice that those guys have been so receptive to what we’re doing.”

With Felton’s and Morrison’s summer league over, it will now be up to Anderson and Hollins to take the veteran reigns and Dudley and Davidson to step up their games.

Charlotte will next take on Orlando – the only 2-0 squad after two days of action – at 3 p.m. on Wednesday at the RDV Sportsplex. You can catch all your Bobcats action right here live.