Armstrong Anxious to Contribute

Along with the newsworthy acquisitions of Morris Peterson and first-round pick Julian Wright, the improvement of Hilton Armstrong has been one of the biggest Hornets topics of conversation this offseason. The Connecticut product has been praised by Chris Paul for making major strides since his rookie campaign, when Armstrong appeared in 56 games.

“I feel a lot more confident than I did last year,” Armstrong says. “Hopefully (teammates) will have a lot more confidence in me now. I do feel like I’m a lot better than I was last season, but now it’s time to prove it, believe it and make it happen.”

After being named Big East Defensive Player of the Year in 2006-07, Armstrong averaged roughly two blocks per 48 minutes as an NBA rookie and showed promise at that end of the floor. However, he was often indecisive and passive offensively.

“I feel a lot more confident in my offensive game,” he says. “I feel more comfortable taking (perimeter) shots. Even though I’ve only shown it in pickup (games), last year I wouldn’t even take some of these (perimeter) shots in pickup ball.

“Last year I was very nervous at first and had a lot of butterflies. It was hard not to get it out of my mind that ‘this is the NBA.’ Now I feel like I’m adjusting much better.”