| The All-Time Best Charlotte Players - Part 1: The Huntersville Bracket Authored by David Mosley - March 23, 2005 - 11:34 pm
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The field has been divided into 4 brackets: Fort Mill, Gastonia, Huntersville and Kannapolis. Players were seeded by taking into account their best single season in Charlotte as well as the longevity of their stay in Charlotte. Also, players were ranked according to what they did while they played in Charlotte, not what they did before or after they left. Games go to 11 by ones, three pointers count as two points. I will post the updates one bracket at a time and then post the results of the final four. This one’s for all the old-time Hornets fans out there. Get your bets ready.
The Huntersville Bracket
First Round Highlights:
(1)Alonzo Mourning vs. (16)Tim Kempton
(2)Anthony Mason vs. (15)Eric Leckner
(3)Dell Curry vs. (14)Malik Rose
(4)Bobby Phills vs. (13)Kareem Rush
(5)Johnny Newman vs. (12)Steve Smith
(6)Kenny Gattison vs. (11)Eddie Robinson
(7)Robert Reid vs. (10)Jason Hart
(8)Scott Burrell vs. (9)Eddie Johnson
Alonzo Mourning scored an easy 11-3 victory over the big red-head. Tim Kempton repeatedly stopped the game to tell reporters about how he could eat an entire Whopper in one bite. Mourning seemed uninterested until Kempton spilled mustard on Mourning’s jersey. Not a good move Timmy.
Anthony Mason torched Eric Leckner 11-5 in another laugher. Mason could be heard yelling to Leckner “Only two things come from Wyoming, steers and Theo Ratliff and you ain’t no Theo”.
Dell Curry vowed before the tournament started that he would only shoot two pointers. He made good on his promise in his first game and squeaked out a 12-9 victory against Rose on 6 two point shots.
The most interesting game of the day was between Kenny “the Gat-Man” Gattison and Eddie Robinson aka E-Rob. E-Rob started off the game with a nasty reverse dunk, followed by a thunderous two-hand jam. Gattison’s feet seemed to be stuck in concrete. On E-Rob’s next possession he again shook Gattison and threw down another monster dunk to go up 3-0. E-Rob was pointing at his posse in the stands and laughing. In a moment as surreal as this article the game changed. As E-Rob went up for his 4th dunk in a row, Gattison , in a move that would make Temple fans proud, sent E-rob crashing to the floor breaking his E-Rob’s wrist in the process. “Nobody punks the Gat-Man!” Gattison shouted. Just like that the game was over. E-Rob, as usual, was unable to play due to injury and had to forfeit.
Other first round winners included Bobby Phills, Johnny Newman, Robert Reid and Eddie Johnson.
Second Round Highlights:
(1)Alonzo Mourning vs. (9)Eddie Johnson
(2)Anthony Mason vs. (7)Robert Reid
(3)Dell Curry vs. (6)Kenny Gattison
(4)Bobby Phills vs. (5)Johnny Newman
Mourning displayed once again that he has the heart of a champion as he battled back from an 8-2 deficit to tie up the game at 10-10. Johnson who started out the game on fire by hitting 4 straight jumpers from all over the floor seemed to run out of gas at the end. Mourning went on to win the game 13-11 on a two point shot reminiscent of the shot he hit the beat the Boston Celtics in the playoffs in 1993, except this time there was nobody to jump top of him.
Mason vs. Reid could be summed up as the battle of ridiculous haircuts. Mason, sporting a fresh new cut with the words “down with Shinn” got off to a slow start. Meanwhile, Reid, who was sporting a Geri curl that only Reggie Theus could love, started the game by hitting 3 straight 2 pointers. He even stopped twice to juice his curls with a fresh can of activator. Not to be out done Mason shaved “comeback kid” into the other side of his head which spurred him on an 11-0 run to finish the game.
Curry stuck to his promise of only shooting 2 pointers. Gattison even dared Curry to take the ball to the basket but after seeing what happened to E-Rob Curry just backed up and started shooting from 30 feet out. Curry won the game easily 12-5. That man has crazy range.
Despite chants of BOBBY from the crowd, Newman ousted Phills 11-9 in a battle of two of the best small forwards in Hornets history. However, Newman had too much offense for the great defender to handle. In a sign of great respect from the fans, Phills left to a standing ovation.
Regional Semifinal Highlights:
(1)Alonzo Mourning vs. (5)Johnny Newman
(2)Anthony Mason vs. (3)Dell Curry
Mourning made easy work of Newman who seemed spent after his emotional battle with Phills. The game ended quickly 11-4.
Mason vs. Curry was a contrast in styles. On one side you had the silky shooting of Curry, on the other you had the rugged Mason. Mason started the game by guarding Curry all the way out the half court. Mason had the size and speed to keep Curry from getting good looks at the basket; however Curry could do nothing with Mason on the defensive end. Mason won the game 11-8.
Regional Final Highlights:
(1)Alonzo Mourning vs. (2)Anthony Mason
Wouldn’t Pat Riley be proud? This game featured two of the most intense competitors going head to head for the first spot in the final four. As you could expect the game was ugly, marred by fouls, scowls and a monster brawl that spilled into the stands and lasted for 18 minutes. At one point, Hornets owner George Shinn jumped into the action and grabbed Mourning by the ankles trying to restrain him. Unfortunately, Shinn suffered a serious concussion and was airlifted to the hospital. In the end, Mason’s versatility proved too much for a drained Mourning as Mason held on to win 11-9.
Winner: Anthony Mason |
