Maggette Embracing Mentor Role For Young Bobcats

[ukballer]

Corey Maggette will serve as Charlotte's No. 1 option as a scorer and also as a veteran leader.

"This will be my 13th year - I'm on my way out of this league," Maggette said. "So it's important for me to help these guys out."

"He's intuitive and thoughtful," Stephen Silas described. "You wouldn't think from afar he has that soft side, that nurturing side with his teammates. We saw it in Golden State some, but here he's offered so much positivity."

"It's been like that since Day 1," Kemba Walker said. "He told me whenever I struggle with anything, come talk to him."

Maggette even offered some analysis for some of the more talented young players on the Bobcats.

On Tyrus Thomas's personality: "Tyrus is a very talented guy and he gets upset a lot, doesn't always know how to approach people the right way. I tell him 'Some people can't handle the aggressive way you talk and some can. Think about the proper way to talk to people,' and he's done a tremendous job of late."

On D.J. Augustin's self-esteem: "He has a lot of skill and knows the game. But it's all about his confidence level. If D.J. knows others have confidence in him, and he has confidence in himself, then he'll excel."

On Kemba Walker's learning curve: "Kemba is just a sponge, taking in everything. He's listening, watching, learning. (After Walker scored 18 in the first exhibition), I said, 'You showed leadership, you got people involved and you put the pressure on yourself to make the big shots.' For a young guy, that's big."



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I'm impressed! Heard a lot of negativity from various people about Corey, and I've seen on court there have been times when he hasn't made the smartest plays in the past, but I like the acceptance of being a leader and a role model for this team, knowing his best years are behind him and that he'll only have a few more years in the league left.

Tough to go on one regular season game, but he seemed to play within himself and didn't make too many errors, and while he is being titled by many as our number 1 scoring option, he seemed more than happy to defer to Gerald, DJA and Kemba.