About 6,000 tickets were distributed for Sunday night’s Charlotte Bobcats intrasquad scrimmage, but the attention at Trask Coliseum wasn’t focused on the franchise coming off its first NBA playoff appearance. Once the scrimmage concluded, it was clear whom the event was held for. Players gathered at midcourt to wave appreciative farewells to the fans.
“It was good to do it for (UNC-Wilmington) and the fans in their city,”
forward Stephen Jackson said. “We’ve been having camp here, and they have definitely been taking great care of us, making us feel like we’re at home. It was a great turnout and it was good to play in front of some good fans.”
Wayne Lofton, president of the Community Boys & Girls Club of Wilmington, brought about 200 children with the organization to the scrimmage. “We’ve come out every year they’re here,” Lofton said. “It’s good for the kids to come out to the festivities.”
Spectators piled into Trask as Bobcats players did their best to impress the crowd.
Gerald Wallace led all scorers with 26 points, highlighted by four rim-rattling slam dunks. “The main thing was trying to have fun and give the fans what they wanted to see,”
the All-Star forward said.
As the only original Bobcat from the 2004 NBA Expansion Draft, Wallace is expected to be the veteran leader of the young team. He offered his insights to teammates throughout the night. However, Wallace didn’t just communicate with players and coaches. “One of the referees told me he could shoot better than me,”
he said.
Head coach Larry Brown was more focused on his entire team’s performance so far this training camp.
“We got a little helter-skelter, but this is the first time we’ve had a crowd and I figured that would happen,”
the Hall of Fame coach said. “As soon as fans get in, coaches lose all control of those scrimmages.”
