Category: Charlotte Hornets Blog

The AP reports:

D.J. Augustin’s clutch shooting, so familiar to basketball fans in his hometown of New Orleans, sent the Charlotte Bobcats into uncharted territory: the NBA playoffs.

Shortly after congratulating the current Louisiana state champions from his old high school, Augustin hit three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, including one with 16 seconds left to give Charlotte the lead for good in a dramatic 104-103 victory over the Hornets on Wednesday night.

That secured the first playoff berth for the Bobcats, in their sixth year since joining the NBA and first with Michael Jordan as their majority owner.

Behind 19 points from Kyle Singler, 15 from Jon Scheyer and a huge inside presence from Brian Zoubek, the Duke Blue Devils beat the Butler Bulldogs 61-59 to win the 2010 NCAA basketball championship.

Along with his 19, Singler had nine rebounds and three blocks. And with his 15, Scheyer had six rebounds, five assists and three blocks.

Also for Duke, Nolan Smith had 13 points and four assists, though he shot just 5-of-15. Playing much of the game in foul trouble, big Zoubek contributed  eight points and 11 rebounds.

Butler struggled from the field, hitting just 20-of-58 shots (34.5%). Gordon Hayward and Shelvin Mack each scored just 12 points. And both struggled, with Hayward shooting 2-of-11, Mack 5-of-14. Hayward did grab eight rebounds and had three steals. But more offense was needed.

Barely anyone on Butler stepped up offensively. Matt Howard scored 11. And Avery Jukes came off the bench for a nice boost of 10.

Butler finished with zero blocks.

The game almost ended with an incredible half-court buzzer-beater from Butler, but the shot, which almost banked in, failed to result in a miracle victory.

The AP reports:

Butler (33-5) shaved a five-point deficit to one and had a chance to win it, when its best player, Hayward, took the ball at the top of the key, spun and worked his way to the baseline, but was forced to put up an off-balance fadeaway from 15 feet.

He missed, Zoubek got the rebound and made the first of two free throws. He missed the second one intentionally, and Duke’s title wasn’t secure until Hayward’s desperation heave from halfcourt went off glass, hit the rim and bounded out.

Basketball fans discussed the game live as it happened in this forum topic.

The NBA Board of Governors has unanimously approved the acquisition by Michael Jordan of a controlling interest in the Charlotte Bobcats.

“We are pleased that Michael Jordan’s purchase of majority ownership of the Bobcats was approved by the NBA’s Board of Governors and closed in such a smooth and expeditious fashion,” said NBA Commissioner David Stern. “We look forward to the continued growth of the Bobcats, on and off the court, under his leadership.”

According to the Associated Press, “The NBA’s Board of Governors on Wednesday unanimously approved Jordan’s $275 million bid to buy the Charlotte Bobcats from Bob Johnson. Jordan will take over the team immediately after serving as a minority investor with the final say on basketball decisions since 2006.”

It’s been reported that Jordan will continue to seek investors to join his ownership group, which would serve to take economic pressure off of him.

It’ll be interesting to see if the Bobcats change team names, though it’s likely they remain the same.

It also remains to be seen how visible an owner Jordan will be.

On the one hand, he’s a winner who tends to want to be associated with things that succeed. If the team isn’t playing well, will he want to sit courtside while they lose? Or will he disappear?

But, Jordan is also the ultimate competitor. If he treats his ownership the way he treated basketball games he played in, he won’t back down and will take no prisoners. However, that’s easier said than done from an ownership position.

His ownership is definitely a positive development for both the team and league. The more legendary players associated with NBA teams, the better.

Have an opinion? Discuss it with other fans in this forum topic.

Charlotte Bobcats General Manager Rod Higgins announced today that the team has signed free agent guard Larry Hughes. A first-round draft pick of Philadelphia in 1998, where he played for Bobcats Head Coach Larry Brown, Hughes was waived by Sacramento on Feb. 23 after a trade from New York on Feb. 18.

The 6-5 Hughes is in his 12th NBA season, with career averages of 14.4 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.5 steals in 31.2 minutes over 704 games with prior stops in Philadelphia, Golden State, Washington, Cleveland, Chicago, and New York.

In 45 career playoff games (38 starts), Hughes averaged 13.2 points with the Sixers, Wizards and Cavaliers. During Cleveland’s run to the NBA Finals in 2006-07, Hughes averaged 14.9 points against eventual champion San Antonio.

Hughes has averaged double-figure scoring in 10 of his 11 NBA seasons, including a career-best 22.0 points per game with the Wizards in 2004-05. In that same season, he led the league with 2.89 steals and was named to the NBA’s All-Defensive First Team.

In 31 games (four starts) played with the Knicks this season, Hughes averaged 9.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.3 steals in 26.5 minutes.

An early entry candidate in the 1998 NBA Draft, Hughes spent just one season at the University of St. Louis before becoming the eighth overall pick by the Sixers. He led the Billikens and Conference USA in scoring, set a school single-season scoring record with 670 points and was selected First Team All-Conference and Freshman of the Year.

Hughes will wear jersey #0. The Bobcats roster now stands at 15 players.