<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>CHARLOTTE — For the first two years of his career, the Charlotte Bobcats’ Raymond Felton has been force-fed the challenging duties of playing NBA point guard while being prodded to watch a veteran play the position at other times. But since the Bobcats released Brevin Knight earlier this summer after he’d spent two years at the point, virtually every move the team has made has cleared the path for Felton to become the team’s unquestioned leader. Longtime mentor Phil Ford (like Felton a former University of North Carolina point guard) was hired as a Bobcats’ assistant coach. Jeff McInnis, another former Tar Heels’ point guard, was re-signed as a free agent to be Felton’s backup. And new Bobcats coach Sam Vincent has given Felton statistical goals he thinks will not only make Felton better, but push the Bobcats toward the playoffs that they’ve set as their preseason goal. “It makes me feel good and it lets me know the organization has that confidence in me to handle that job and take over that role,” said Felton, whose team opens the 2007-08 season tonight at 7 p.m. at home against the Milwaukee Bucks. Vincent, a former NBA point guard himself, recognizes his goals for Felton are high. But he’s confident the former prep and college All-American can meet them. “That’s how it is,” said Vincent, a point guard for Bobcats’ minority owner Michael Jordan when the two played for the Chicago Bulls. “He’s been in the league for two years and had a chance to really study the league, the players and watch the point guards and get a feel for what he can and can’t do. And now, this team is at a point where it’s time to make the next jump and he’s the guy who’s got the ball in his hands and can make it happen.” As a rookie, Felton started 54 of a team-high 80 games, averaging 11.9 points, 5.6 assists and 2.3 turnovers per game. Last season, while starting 75 of 78 games, he improved those numbers to 14.0 points, 7.0 assists and 2.9 turnovers. Vincent’s goals for Felton have nothing to do with scoring. Vincent would like to see a four or five to one assist-to-turnover ratio and an average of at least seven assists per game. “I think it’s important to have targets,” Vincent said. “You’ve got to have something that you’re trying to achieve or else you don’t know what you’re trying to achieve. So it’s important for Raymond, not necessarily in scoring but in assist-to-turnover ratio, assists period and defense. We’re trying to get him to target those areas.”</div></p> Source: Gaston Gazette</p>
