Herrmann Officially Signs
After weeks of speculation, the Bobcats have officially signed free agent forward Walter Herrmann.
The 27-year-old is a former Player of the Year in the Spanish ACB League and member of the 2004 Argentinean Olympic Team that won the gold medal. In the FIBA World Championships just completed, he averaged 9.8 points on .500 shooting from the field and .471 from three-point range and scored 25 and 23 points in back-to-back wins for Argentina against Venezuela and Lebanon.
"We are pleased to add Walter Herrmann to our team. He has a good track record with his performance in arguably the best league outside of the NBA," Bobcats coach-general manager Berni
e Bickerstaff said. "The success his countrymen like Manu Ginobili and Andres Nocioni have had in the NBA translates well for Walter as he brings the toughness and intensity that they exemplify and that has been the Bobcats’ trademark."
The 6-9, 225-pounder has appeared in 379 professional games in Spain and Argentina with career averages of 13.4 points and 4.7 rebounds, while shooting .526 from the field and .386 from the three-point line. Herrmann spent the last three of his 10 professional seasons with Unicaja Malaga of Spain and helped lead Unicaja to the 2005-06 ACB National Championship and Spanish National Cup. He averaged 10.5 points and 3.0 rebounds in 39 regular season games this season, while connecting on .562 from the field and .435 from the three-point arc.
"It has always been a dream of mine to be in the NBA, but the moment was never right," Herrmann said. "I have known that Charlotte has had interest in me for a couple of years now and this summer I finally got the opportunity to meet Coach Bickerstaff and spend a day with their summer league team. I was very impressed by everything about the organization and was happy that they wanted to sign me.
"I look forward to learning from Coach Bickerstaff and his staff, moving to Charlotte, and hopefully getting some pointers from Mr. Jordan! My objectives are to help the Charlotte Bobcats win basketball games and learn about the NBA and how things are done here."
Herrmann joined the Bobcats’ entry in the Orlando Summer League for one day in July while on his honeymoon in central Florida and before he joined the Argentinean national team training for the World Championships. In his only game action during summer league play, he scored seven points and grabbed four rebounds in 19 minutes during an 83-65 win over Miami.
The leading scorer in the Spanish League with 22.2 points in his only season with Fuenlabrada in 2002-03, he also earned ACB Player of the Year, Forward of the Year and Newcomer of the Year honors that season. In the ULEB Cup Tournament, he averaged 16.8 points, 6.3 rebounds and connected on .538 from the field in nine games.
A two-time Argentinean League All-Star (2000, 2002) and Spanish League All-Star (2003), Herrmann earned additional honors over his career, including 2002 Argentinean League Finals Most Valuable Player and All-Argentinean League First Team following the 2000-01 season. He also won the 1999 and 2000 Argentinean All-Star game dunk contest.
Currently a member of the Argentinean National Team, Herrmann was a member of the 2004 Argentinean gold medal Olympic team with current NBA players Manu Ginobili and Fabricio Oberto from San Antonio and Chicago’s Andres Nocioni. He also earned a gold medal at the 2001 and 2004 South American Championships and a silver medal at the 2001 Goodwill Games.
I can't wait to see how he does in the League
|
