<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">We can talk -- and we have -- about what the Charlotte Bobcats failed to do this season. Let's talk about what they did. They moved up to acquire the second pick in the NBA draft, and they used it select Emeka Okafor. Okafor will be named today the league's rookie of the year, and he ought to be. Ben Gordon, Okafor's former teammate at Connecticut, provided the only competition. Gordon played for a decent team, the Chicago Bulls. Okafor played for an expansion team. Gordon made the playoffs. Okafor did not. Gordon was expected to lead his team in the fourth quarter. Okafor was expected to lead his team in the fourth quarter, and in the first, the second and the third. If you look at a Chicago scouting report, Gordon, who on Tuesday was selected as the NBA's sixth man of the year, probably will be the fourth name you encounter. If you look at Charlotte's, Okafor will be first. The Bobcats won 18 games, and everybody they beat except Atlanta thought the loss was a fluke. Nobody wants to lose to an expansion team. The strategy was simple. Beat Okafor and you beat Charlotte.</div> Link
Please - if you're a Chicago Bulls fan and are about to post reasons why Gordon deserved the award over Okafor... don't. Remember that this is the Charlotte Bobcats' board and nobody here cares what your thoughts are on the matter. Don't rain on their parade. Thank you. Congratulations Charlotte fans. It seems that your team has a great building block for the future.
Emeka Wins ROY!!! <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"><div align="center"></div> Okafor received a total of 514 points, including 77 first-place votes out of a possible 126, from a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. Players were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third-place vote received. Chicago?s Ben Gordon finished a close second with 443 points, while Orlando?s Dwight Howard finished third with 161 points. Okafor, the second overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft, led all rookies in scoring (15.1 ppg), rebounds (10.9 rpg) and minutes played (35.6 mpg), and ranked second in blocks (1.71 bpg). Okafor ranked fourth in the league in rebounding and third in offensive rebounding (3.8 rpg) while leading the Bobcats in scoring, rebounding, blocks and minutes this season. </div> NBA.com
