<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Sean May buried 19-foot jumpers and finished fastbreak drills with finger roll layups. Emeka Okafor ran at full speed without favoring his troublesome right ankle. Both big men were back on the court fit, trim and healthy Tuesday morning at Trask Coliseum - good news for the Charlotte Bobcats as they prepare for the 2006-07 season. The Bobcats, entering their third season as an NBA expansion franchise, went 26-56 during an injury-riddled 2005-06 season. Their frontcourt was in shambles by the end, with 6-foot-7 wing Gerald Wallace forced to man the power forward slot. "It's just good to have them out there," Bobcats coach Bernie Bickerstaff said with a smile Tuesday. "Those guys are our possession guys." Okafor, a 6-10 post player, led Connecticut to the national championship in 2004; the 6-9 May did the same at North Carolina in 2005. Each was named Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four. But those good times seemed decades old last season, when they missed a total of 96 games. May's rookie season was finished before Christmas. He had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee during the preseason and played 23 games, averaging 8.2 points and 4.7 rebounds. He re-injured the knee Dec. 21 and had the procedure performed again Jan. 20. "It was tough, but I had been through it in college, when I missed 26 games my freshman year," May said. "Injuries are part of the game you just have to deal with it and adjust." Okafor battled chronic back pain during his career at UConn but remained healthy enough to play 73 games during the 2004-05 season. He averaged 15 points and 10 rebounds and won the league's rookie of the year award. Seeking to improve, he bulked up to 273 pounds prior to last season but said that for him, bigger didn't mean better. "When I gained all that weight my muscles tended to explode like the Incredible Hulk," Okafor said. "I lost my touch around the basket and wore down as the season went on." Okafor recorded 16 double-doubles, including four in a row, before a right ankle injury sent him to the sidelines in the Bobcats' 26th game. He made just one appearance the remainder of the season. Bickerstaff called Okafor, a two-time national defensive player of the year in college, the key to the Bobcats defense this season. Charlotte surrendered 101 points per game last season and will count on Okafor, who blocked 125 shots as a rookie, to be its basket-guarding presence in the paint. "So much of shot-blocking is based on timing and where I'm positioned," Okafor said. "Sometimes it's not about blocking every shot. Half the battle is getting in the opponent's head. If can I block two or three, alter eight and have him thinking about me on every one."</div> Source
I'm interested to see what May can do, he shot a low percentage last season, but you could see that he has the offensive skills.
A frontcourt of Morrison/Wallace, May, and Okafor could be very deadly in the future. Okafor really needs to be more efficient though, his FG% is too low for a PF.
