<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Charlotte's preparation for the 2007 NBA Draft began Thursday at the Presbyterian Hospital Training Center at Charlotte Bobcats Arena with Vanderbilt's Derrick Byars, Xavier's Justin Cage, Kansas State's Cartier Martin and Winthrop's Torrell Martin all participating in new Head Coach Sam Vincent's first predraft workouts with the Bobcats. Byars averaged 14.8 points on 46.7 percent (337-722) shooting from the field and 40.0 percent (142-355) from three-point range while starting all 64 games in his junior and senior years at Vanderbilt. The 6-7, 220-pound guard/forward earned Honorable Mention All-America and All-SEC First Team honors while leading the Commodores with 17.0 points and was second on the team with 6.9 rebounds. Under Byars? leadership, Vanderbilt advanced to the Sweet 16 in 2007 before a heartbreaking 66-65 loss to Georgetown. Byars began his collegiate career at Virginia, averaging 7.0 points and 3.1 rebounds in his first two years before sitting out the 2004-05 season after transferring to Vanderbilt. Cage was a defensive standout at Xavier, making three straight Atlantic 10 Conference All-Defensive teams (2004-05, 2005-06, 2006-07), while ranking second all-time with 131 games played for the Musketeers, including 113-straight starts. The 6-6, 225-pound forward ranked fourth on the team with 10.5 points and second with 5.4 rebounds in his senior season, while helping the Musketeers to a berth and first-round win over BYU in the 2007 NCAA Tournament. He finished his career 26th on XU?s all-time scoring list with 1,181 career points. Cartier Martin led Kansas State with 17.1 points on .460 shooting (197-428) from the field and .386 shooting (78-202) from beyond the arc while playing primarily as a reserve in his senior season. He started just 18 of the Wildcats 35 games in 2006-07, but managed to score 20-or-more points in 13 games and was named the inaugural recipient of the Big 12?s Sixth Man of the Year award. The 6-7, 220-pound guard/forward is just one of three players in Kansas State history to top 1,500 points (1546) and 500 rebounds (540) in his career. Torrell Martin is an athletic guard who doesn?t have a problem finding his shot. He ranked second on Winthrop in scoring (14.5) and rebounding (5.7) in 2006-07 and raised his game in the NCAA Tournament, totaling 35 points and 23 rebounds in two games for the Big South Champions, including a 20-point, 11-rebound effort in a 74-64 win over sixth-seeded Notre Dame in the first round. He scored 1,387 points in his four-year career at Winthrop and was selected to the All-Big South Conference First Team after his junior season. He also was voted Big South Tournament MVP after his sophomore and junior seasons. Vincent, Byars and Torrell Martin all spoke with the media after the workouts: </div> Source: Bobcats Basketball
