TalkingApes

This is from BobcatsBasketball.com, interview of Bernie after Morrison’s workout.

CHARLOTTE BOBCATS: Morrison Highlights Monday Workout
BOBCATS GENERAL MANAGER & HEAD COACH BERNIE BICKERSTAFF
(On the workout) Very competitive — three competitive young men. They all can score. They’ll all be in the mix one way or the other — probably two guys that are definitely lottery picks, Carney and Morrison. And the kid from South Carolina did a good job, Kinsey, he just needs more exposure and he’ll probably get there.

(On Morrison) He can put the ball in the basket. And he can get his shot — very clever — I think that’s very important. And obviously there’s no problem with him scoring, that’s what he does. And the guy competes, that’s what made the real session good. We had three guys who really competed, so he’s very competitive.

(On what he learns about the players from the workouts) Well, whether they can get through them, that’s number one. We’ve had all the drills set up, we do it different for the wingmen and the guards and the big people, and different looks to see if they can catch and shoot — see how they can put the ball on the floor, how they compete. We watch the tapes prior to the workouts, like we had tapes on the guys this morning. We watched those and we looked for what they say their weaknesses are. We want to confirm them for ourselves.

(On if he talked with Morrison about his diabetes) No, we did not talk about his diabetes. I imagine that’s an obligatory question. That’s our doctor’s call, and we’ve had our trainer talk to Chris Dudley and Mike Saunders, who was in NY when Chris played. So we are interested in the basketball aspect of it — the doctors will make that (health) call.

(On where he thinks Morrison fits in the draft) He was probably linked to first three or four picks. I think it will be very difficult for Toronto to pass up on him (at No. 1), if he continues to workout. I think this is his first workout, but it’s going to be difficult to pass on him. He’s a good player.

(On the criticism of his defense) Well that’s a knock on the NBA, so he’s a kindred spirit.

(On the Bobcats selling their program vs. the players selling themselves to the program) Oh, we pay well (laughs). If you talk to guys that are here with us, they want to be here. We have a nice core group — a nice group of young men. It’s a nice state-of-the-art facility, and like I said the salary is still the same, minutes — you can get and you will know your role. It’s a pretty good environment to be in.

(On Morrison being able to play the three) The way we play, you can go three or two because it’s basically the same. He can handle a basketball and put the ball on the floor. I’ve seen him bring it. But I have to say, guys are so good in the NBA that’s it’s very difficult to defend one-on-one, so that’s why the team concept comes in — defensively.

(On his shooting at the end of the workout) They all have the ability — they reached down. That’s why we do the drills the way we do them, to see who can persevere when things get tough. And he did. He’ll be fine in another year.