<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">A recent encounter in Oklahoma City with Bob Bass, former Hornets General Manager and Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations, reminded me of the travails this franchise has endured over the past six seasons. The chaos spawned from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita throughout New Orleans the gulf coast region is the most recent and unquestionably the most catastrophic; but the Hornets have been through more in half a decade than most major league organizations have endured in their entire history. In the last six seasons the team has endured a catastrophic hurricane, a player?s in-season death, a permanent franchise relocation, a temporary franchise relocation, three head coaches, the loss of their star player due to a career-ending injury and finally the total rebuilding of the roster due to injuries and age. The series of unfortunate events began on January 10, 2000 when guard/forward Bobby Phills (ironically a Louisiana native) died in a car accident following the team?s morning shoot around practice at the Charlotte (N.C.) Coliseum. He was reportedly drag racing teammate and best friend David Wesley on Tyvola Rd. just a couple of miles from the arena when he lost control of his vehicle, crashed and perished in the collision. It was the most heart-wrenching experience any of us had ever gone through ? to lose a friend, a player and the team?s locker room leader during an NBA season. The hardest broadcast I?ve ever had to execute was the one that followed that tragedy. The Hornets played the Knicks in Madison Square Garden on January 15th. I remember not being able to listen to the pre-recorded pre-game show because it contained all of the emotion of the fans, the players and the coaches. The game itself is still a fog of memory for me; however, I will never forget the ending when every player in the historic building gravitated to center court and embraced for a prayer. Words do not give that scene justice. The Charlotte Hornets never seemed to recover from the loss of their leader. Head coach Paul Silas stood tall during that time, embracing players, staff and media alike. But the franchise was at a crossroads, needing a new arena to remain competitive in the ever-changing NBA. A deal could not be struck with city officials and owner George Shinn was forced to look elsewhere to continue operating the team. </div> Hornets.com
