By Scott Lauer
October 1, 2014
Scott Lauer is the radio play-by-play voice of the Charlotte Hornets. His column will appear on hornets.com on Thursdays throughout the season. The opinions expressed here are his own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Hornets organization.
Day 2 of Training Camp featured boiling hot shooting from rookie P.J. Hairston, who as Head Coach Steve Clifford remarked, “hit EVERYTHING.” Hairston was supported by a familiar face in Roy Williams, his college head coach at the University of North Carolina. Here’s a Q & A that I conducted with Hairston after the scrimmage today:
Q: What did the presence of Coach Williams mean to you?
A: He saw me hit shots, which was nothing; that’s what I did in college. My job is to knock down shots, and that’s what I get paid to do.
Q: Describe the outstanding scrimmage that you had.
A: I was just trying to create for my teammates, and I really am focusing on my defensive rebounding.
Q: How does that rebounding focus help you?
A: It makes me more comfortable, and helps with my spacing and readiness on the court.
Q: What have you learned in camp?
A: Just to be myself. I’m not trying to do too much or impress anyone. I just want to play basketball.
Q: Give me some examples of early rookie initiation.
A: Big Al (Jefferson) saw me go in the elevator yesterday, and was like, “hey rook!” (He was giving him a hard time about rookies getting in first in front of veterans). I just kind of laughed. Then Jefferson said “Your backpack is too nice. We need to get you another one when we get back to Charlotte.” It’s all fun and games, but on the court, they pat me on the back when I do well.
Q: What do you make of the log-jam at the shooting guard position? (Lance Stephenson, Gerald Henderson, Gary Neal and Hairston)
A: I’m just going to do the best that I can and do the little things. Whenever my name is called, I have to be ready.
Q: What are you trying to improve on?
A: I think that we would all agree that it’s defense. I’m getting used to ball screens and getting better at it. Just getting used to the different calls on defense is what I’m working on.