Category: Charlotte Hornets Blog

The Charlotte Bobcats today named Ralph Lewis, Charles Oakley and Stephen Silas as assistant coaches on the staff of Interim Head Coach Paul Silas.

“It was important to me to quickly put together a staff that I feel comfortable with and one that mirrors my coaching philosophy and can immediately make an impact on this team in a positive way,” said Silas. “Ralph Lewis brings experience as both a player and a coach, and Stephen has been part of my staffs on a few of my NBA stints.  I’ve always admired Charles Oakley and I feel his overall experience as a competitor and his mental toughness will only enhance our preparations.”

Lewis played professionally for 10 years, including three seasons in the NBA with the Pistons and Hornets.  He served as assistant coach of the Huntsville Flight during the inaugural season of the NBA Development League in 2001-02 before becoming head coach from 2002-05.  During his three seasons as head coach, the Flight compiled a 73-71 record and made consecutive playoff appearances in 2003-04 and 2004-05.  Lewis went on to serve as an assistant coach for the SuperSonics/Thunder from 2005-09.  In addition to his playing and coaching experience, Lewis has worked as an executive in the human resources and healthcare fields.

A 19-year NBA veteran, Oakley comes to the bench as an assistant coach for the first time.  During his NBA career, he averaged 9.7 points and 9.5 rebounds in 1,282 games played for Chicago, New York, Toronto, Washington and Houston.  In addition to being selected for the 1994 Eastern Conference All-Star Team, his playing honors include being named to the All-Rookie First Team in 1985-86, All-Defensive First Team in 1993-94 and All-Defensive Second Team in 1997-98.  Oakley, who led the league in rebounds in both 1986-87 and 1987-88, currently ranks 20th on the NBA’s all-time rebounding list (12,205), while also ranking ninth all-time in offensive rebounds (3,924) and 13th in defensive rebounds (8,281).  In addition, his 1,282 games played is the 14th-best total in NBA history.

In his 10th season as an assistant coach, Stephen Silas joins the Bobcats from the Golden State Warriors, where he has been as an assistant coach since 2006.  Prior to that, he was an assistant coach on his father’s staffs with the Hornets from 2000-03 and the Cavaliers from 2003-05.  Silas has also served as head coach for Summer League entries for the Hornets (2002), Cavaliers (2003) and Warriors (2010).  In addition to his coaching roles, Silas was an advance scout for the Hornets in 1999-2000 and the Wizards in 2005-06.

Charlotte Bobcats Chairman and CEO Michael Jordan today named Paul Silas interim head coach of the team, effective immediately.

In 10 seasons as an NBA head coach, Silas has a career record of 355-400 with the Clippers (1980-83), Hornets (1999-2003) and Cavaliers (2003-05) He has also spent 11 seasons as an assistant coach for the Hornets, Knicks, Nets and Suns.

During his four-plus seasons as head coach of the Hornets, Silas compiled a 208-155 (.573) record and led the team to the playoffs in each of his four full seasons. He remains the team’s all-time leader in coaching wins and ranks second in winning percentage. Silas was named interim head coach of the Hornets on March 7, 1999, and led the team to a 22-13 record over the final 35 games of the 1998-99 season after replacing Dave Cowens.

A 16-year NBA veteran, Silas averaged 9.4 points and 9.9 rebounds in 1,254 career games for the Hawks, Suns, Celtics, Nuggets and SuperSonics. He was a two-time All-Star (1972 and 1975) and won three NBA Championships (1974 and 1976 with Boston and 1979 with Seattle). Silas currently ranks 19th on the NBA’s career lists for rebounds (12,357) and games played (1,254).

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Charlotte Bobcats Chairman and CEO Michael Jordan announced today that Larry Brown is stepping down as head coach of the team, effective immediately.

“I met with Coach Brown two weeks ago about the team’s performance and what we could do to improve it. We met again this morning after practice. The team has clearly not lived up to either of our expectations and we both agreed that a change was necessary,” Jordan said.

“This was a difficult decision for both of us, but one that needed to be made. I want to thank Larry for everything he has done for our team. He has played a key role in this organization’s development including coaching us to our first-ever playoff appearance last season. Larry will continue to be a valuable advisor to me regarding the team. The search for a successor will begin immediately.”

Brown was named the third head coach in team history on April 29, 2008, and compiled a record of 88-104 (.458) in two-plus seasons with the Bobcats.

The AP reports: The 70-year-old Brown, a Hall of Fame coach who was in the third season of his 13th professional and college head coaching job, had been upset with his team for weeks. The Bobcats (9-19) had lost three games by 31 or more points in 10 days before Tuesday’s fourth-quarter meltdown against Oklahoma City. Brown, who had two years left on his contract, didn’t immediately return a message on his cell phone seeking comment.

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The Charlotte Bobcats have recalled rookie guard Sherron Collins from their NBA Development League affiliate, the Maine Red Claws.  Collins is expected to rejoin the Bobcats tonight when they host the Oklahoma City Thunder at Time Warner Cable Arena.

The 5-11 Collins appeared in five games with the Red Claws, averaging 12.0 points, 3.2 assists, 1.6 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 26.0 minutes, while shooting .396 from the field (19-48) and .842 from the free-throw line (16-19).

Collins, who was assigned to the Red Claws on December 9, scored in double figures in three of the five games, including an 18-point, eight-assist outing against the Springfield Armor on December 17.

Charlotte Bobcats General Manager Rod Higgins announced today that the team has assigned guard Sherron Collins to their NBA Development League affiliate, the Maine Red Claws. Collins is expected to see his first action with the club on Friday, December 10, at the Erie (PA) BayHawks.

The 5-11 Collins went undrafted in the 2010 NBA Draft but signed as a free agent with the Bobcats on August 6.  Hampered by injury prior to training camp, Collins has appeared in only 12 games this season, with averages of 0.3 points, 0.1 rebounds and 0.4 assists in 2.4 minutes.  He averaged 12.5 points and 2.8 assists in four games for the Bobcats summer league entry at the 2010 AirTran Airways Pro Summer League in Orlando, connecting on .556 from the field (20-36) and .615 from beyond the three-point line (8-13), the best percentage of any player with more than six attempts.

As a senior at the University of Kansas last season, Collins was named Consensus First Team All-America, while also receiving the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award as the nation’s top player 6 feet or under and the inaugural Lute Olson Player of the Year Award, which is presented to the nation’s top Division I player who has played at least two seasons with his respective team.

During his four years at Kansas, Collins was named First Team All-Big 12 as a junior and senior, Big 12 Tournament Most Outstanding Player as a senior and Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year as a sophomore. A member of Kansas’ 2008 national championship team, Collins is the winningest player in school history with 130 victories, having helped the Jayhawks to four straight Big 12 regular-season championships and three Big 12 Tournament titles. One of only two players in school history to record at least 1,800 points and at least 500 assists, Collins finished his career fifth on Kansas’ all-time scoring list (1,888 points) and seventh on the all-time assists list (552).

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The AP reports:

Charlotte Bobcats guard Stephen Jackson has sent a letter to fans apologizing for his ejection and ensuing one-game suspension for verbally abusing a referee.

Jackson’s letter was e-mailed to season-ticket holders Friday, hours before he was to play against New Jersey in his first game since his punishment.

Jackson says he let his teammates and coaches down, “but more importantly, I let our fans down.”

Stephen Jackson apology letter:

People do not like to admit they are wrong, but my actions in Milwaukee last week resulted in an ejection and ultimately an NBA suspension for the next game. As a result, I let myself, my teammates and my coaches down, but more importantly, I let our fans down. In my heart, I know I have to adjust my emotions on the floor and I vow to work harder than ever to not put myself or this team in that situation again.

I understand the rules that the NBA has established to govern players’ behavior on the floor and I respect the job the officials have each night. NBA players are bigger, faster and more athletic than ever, so being able to call a perfect game each night and see every foul is tough, and I have to take that into consideration.

I play this game with all the passion, love and respect of those who came before me. It’s a privilege to play professional basketball and I have been blessed with the talent and opportunity to play this game at a high level. In order for me to display those gifts, I have to be on the floor with my teammates. As a co-captain, I have to lead by example and I feel it’s my obligation and commitment to this team to carry out those responsibilities.

I’m back tonight as we take on the New Jersey Nets, and I hope to continue bringing you memorable moments on the court and not for my behavior.

– Source: Charlotte Observer

InsideHoops.com editor says: Smart move by S-Jax (or, more likely, the PR person who helped write the letter). Now he just has to keep playing hard, entertaining the fans and help the team as usual.

For the season, Jackson is averaging 18.1 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game, on borderline acceptable 43.7% shooting, with an impressive 41.6% mark from three-point range.

Stephen Jackson of the Charlotte Bobcats has been suspended one game without pay for verbal abuse of a game official and for failing to leave the court in a timely manner following his ejection, it was announced today by Stu Jackson, NBA Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.

The incident occurred with 7:31 remaining in the first quarter of the Bobcats’ 104-101 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday, November 27 at Bradley Center. Jackson, who was previously fined $50,000 on November 6 for verbal abuse of officials, will serve his suspension on Wednesday when the Bobcats visit New Orleans Arena to play the Hornets.

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