Charlotte
Philip Maymin
Basketball News Services
While the USA Men's Basketball Team entry into these 2004 Olympic Games have representatives from various teams, including three of last year's best rookies, and even though some NBA teams have more than one player on the team, the Olympic entry is one sense most associated with the Charlotte Bobcats. Why? Because it is the only team whose 2004 first round pick is on the roster.
Emeka Okafor is not the youngest player on the US Olympic team but he is the latest to be drafted. He is the only one never to have played a single NBA game.
The Okaforlympics have started and the first game is this Sunday against Puerto Rico, who boast three NBA players on their roster: Utah's Carlos Arroyo, Milwaukee's Daniel Santiago, and another rookie drafted in 2004, Washington's Peter John Ramos.
Okafor should see some playing time as he is one of the few true centers on a team lacking size, though when the going gets tough, head coach Larry Brown will probably have Tim Duncan at the pivot.
An even dozen years ago, a young Christian Laettner got to go to the Olympics with the original Dream Team, and it was partially there that he caught the eye of one Michael Jordan, who later recruited him to the Wizards. Who knows what kind of relationships Okafor will forge. It is almost a guarantee that at least one of the players on this year's roster will also be a head coach or GM someday.
My bet is it's going to be Okafor.
TEAM NOTES
The Bobcats have released their 2004-2005 regular season schedule.
The Charlotte Bobcats will host a special reading timeouton Friday, August 13, at First Ward Center Gymnasium to celebrate the Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.
WHO: Bobcats Assistant Coaches Gary Kloppenburg and John Outlaw; Jeff Johnson, WJZY On-Air Personality
WHEN: Friday, August 13, 2004 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
WHERE: First Ward Center Gymnasium 610 East 7th Street
Charlotte Bobcats will reward hard work and success within the Charlotte community by distributing complimentary tickets to Bobcats games to deserving charitable organizations.
Carolinas Sports Entertainment Television (C-SET) today namedSteve MillerVice President and General Sales Manager, it was announced by Naomi Travers, Executive Vice President of Media Rights and Entertainment for the Charlotte Bobcats, who own and operate C-SET.
Neil Amato ofThe Herald Sunwrites: They are called the North Carolina All-Stars, a name that might lead you to believe this basketball team of 12-year-olds was pick-of-the-litter, a tryout-proven bunch... They were just happy to be there, testing themselves against bigger and supposedly better teams with players handpicked from entire states or populous metro areas. The opponents included the son of CBS basketball analyst Clark Kellogg and the little brother of Charlotte Bobcats draft choice Emeka Okafor.
John Denton ofFlorida Todaywrites: Orlando left Stevenson unprotected in the expansion draft, but he was not selected by the Charlotte Bobcats.A restricted free agent, Stevenson received little interest from other teams this offseason.
Phil Chardis ofThe Journal Inquirerwrites: They have never met, but Ricky Moore and Ben Gordon share an important place in University of Connecticut basketball history. Each was the starting off-guard on a UConn national championship team. "I've never met Emeka (Okafor) or Ben," Moore said, "but I'm probably going to meet Emeka in Charlotte when he gets back from the Olympics, if I go down and work out with (the Charlotte Bobcats).They should have some pickup games going on. I'll meet Ben this weekend."
Joseph Patel ofMTV Newswrites: Jay-Z's career as part-owner of an NBA franchise has officially begun... His participation in the ownership ranks, though, set the stage for another rapper to enter the sports field: Nelly.Last month, Nelly became an investor in the ownership group that runs the Charlotte Bobcats expansion NBA franchise, led by former BET owner Robert Johnson