Can Okafor get back on track?
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By John Schuhmann

You could call them question marks. Or maybe X-factors. Call them whatever you want. These guys have something to prove this season. NBA.com gives you 10 players (in alphabetical order) who will be under the microscope in 2006-07. For various reasons, all eyes are on them.

Next up is Emeka Okafor.

On the Spot Index

When the Bobcats drafted Emeka Okafor at No. 2 two years ago, they made him the cornerstone of their new franchise. He did not disappoint in his rookie campaign, averaging 15.1 points and 10.9 boards and winning the Rookie of the Year award.

Last year however, Okafor suffered an ankle injury that kept him out for all but 26 games. Meanwhile, the guy who was drafted before him, Dwight Howard, has seemingly passed him by as the class of the class of 2004. With a talented young core of Okafor, Raymond Felton, Adam Morrison and Sean May, the future is bright for Charlotte. But they need their franchise player healthy and back to form in order to keep moving forward.

"Life is not a straight-line function. It meanders off course, for better or worse, when you least expect it.

"That's what Emeka Okafor learned from months of balancing on crutches last season.

"He incorrectly assumed that whatever he did in the past was just the baseline for the future. Instead he discovered that a brilliant rookie can morph into a struggling, injured veteran.

"When he was playing -- and that accounted for only 26 of 82 games last season -- he was muscle-bound and frustrated. Then he sprained his right ankle, re-sprained the ankle, and finally called an end to the most frustrating winter of his basketball career.

"Lessons were learned."
-- Rick Bonnell, Charlotte Observer

"Still, Okafor averaged 13.2 points and 10 rebounds with 50 blocked shots in his abbreviated season. That's why head coach and general manager Bernie Bickerstaff quipped that Okafor looked good during Tuesday morning's workout simply because he was on the court again.

"Bickerstaff said he has challenged Okafor to reclaim his reputation and be the "anchor of our defense." But he figures the player's biggest motivation will come from within."
-- Aaron Beard, AP

"Remember, on draft day 2004 it was a huge toss-up: Howard or Emeka Okafor. Okafor has been great, but I don't think it's a toss-up anymore."
-- True Hoop