The Charlotte Bobcats,North Carolina’s pro basketball team, held their preseason training camp at UNCW this past week in Trask Coliseum. All of the coaches and players were in attendance for a week of workouts and practices. Training camp is an opportunity for teams to come together and prepare for the long season ahead.

The team arrived and held their first practice on Tuesday, October 4, and worked for five consecutive days until the last practice on Saturday. The camp concluded with an intra-squad scrimmage this past Monday at Trask.

This was no ordinary scrimmage. It was a chance to see not only last season’s NBA Rookie-of-the-Year in Emeka Okafor, but also to see the #5 and #13 overall draft picks of the 2005 NBA Draft. Fans might know those two better as former UNC standouts Raymond Felton and Sean May. This was the public’s first opportunity to see Felton and May playing in Bobcat uniforms.

The main goal for the camp was to get more familiar with each other and for the rookies and the rest of the team to gel as they head into the season. General Manager and Head Coach Bernie Bickerstaff thought the experience was a success.

“I am very pleased [with the team’s progress] in Wilmington. The guys have done a good job, worked hard, and they’re getting conditioned so I am very pleased,” Bickerstaff said.

The players seemed to enjoy their time at UNCW and in Wilmington altogether. Starting point guard Brevin Knight was looking forward to touring the battleship and playing some golf. Others just wanted to take the week to relax and lay low. One hotspot the players gravitated to was Fat Tony’s Italian Pub on Front Street.

“I like the proximity of Fat Tony’s. After a long day of practice, you want to go someplace to sit down and chill and have a good meal,” Emeka Okafor said.

Some students might remember that the NBA at UNCW is not entirely unfamiliar. The Washington Wizards with Michael Jordan held their training camp here from 2000-2002.