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WILMINGTON And on the third night, they rested.
Several veterans lobbied Charlotte Bobcats coach Larry Brown for a break from two-a-day practices this week. So Brown had one full-contact practice Thursday morning, then cancelled the evening session.
“They earned it. Some of the older players asked me and I told them as long as we work hard, that would be fine,'' Brown said. “I don't want to ask them to play hard, then not reward them. They've been great.''
Brown acknowledged that some of the players – particularly the younger ones – are probably lost in all the data the coaches have thrown at them.
Brown says the approach he adopted from former North Carolina coach Dean Smith is to teach a flood of offensive and defensive concepts initially, then go back and refine later in the preseason. Brown anticipated some players feeling a bit overwhelmed, particularly since the Bobcats have had a different head coach each of the past three seasons.
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Smith attended practice again Thursday, along with current North Carolina coach Roy Williams and his staff.
It's hard to move around a Bobcats practice these days without bumping into a Tar Heel: Brown, managing partner Michael Jordan, director of player personnel Buzz Peterson and players Raymond Felton and Sean May.
Center Ryan Hollins was back in practice Wednesday evening, after missing a couple of sessions with a groin strain. Now power forward Andre Brown has a groin strain that held him out of the single practice Thursday.
