Alonzo Mourning, greatest Charlotte Hornet of them all?

   Charlotte had never seen an NBA player like Alonzo Mourning. The Charlotte Hornets drafted him in 1992. He was the second player taken. Shaquille O'Neal was first and Christian Laettner third.

   After a holdout, Mourning charged into the NBA. He shot, knocked people around, rebounded and played defense. He deferred to nobody, including teammates. Although at 6-10 he was undersized for a center, his defensive timing was impeccable and he was intense as anybody in the league.

    Mourning retired Thursday. He ended his career with the Miami Heat. He was different there. He raised a lot of money for charity. I read a story in Sports Illustrated by a writer I respect about what a great guy Alonzo was. I checked to make sure it was Mourning he was writing about.

   We did not see that Alonzo here. On a team full of great guys, Mourning was not one of them. He was surly, he was angry and the nastiness with which he played accompanied him wherever he went. There was little humanity to him.

   After a playoff loss to Chicago, Scottie Pippen of the Bulls walked into the Hornets locker room to congratulate the players.

   I can't print what Mourning told him. I had heard the words before, but never in that combination.

   The Hornets had an opportunity to be one of the league's best teams, but head coach Allan Bristow couldn't sell his stars -- Mourning, Larry Johnson and Kendall Gill -- on the concept. They were young and they were stars.

   Johnson and Muggsy Bogues and Dell Curry gave the team its style and its soul. it was as interesting a collection of personalities as I've seen. But it just didn't work.

   Finally, Mourning and owner George Shinn got in a war. Shinn wouldn't pay Mourning, who was in the final year of his contract, what he could make elsewhere and after a public battle the Hornets traded Mourning, LeRon Ellis and Pete Myers to Miami for Glen Rice, Khalid Reeves, Matt Geiger and a No. 1 draft pick.

   The Hornets had two first round picks in the next draft. They used the second of the picks on Tony Delk, the guard out of Kentucky. They used the other on Kobe Bryant. In a deal cut before the draft, the Hornets traded Bryant to Los Angeles for Vlade Divac.

   When I think of the all-time Charlotte Hornet greats, I think of Johnson and Muggsy Bogues and even Baron Davis. Had Mourning stayed, he, too, would have been one of the greats. But he was only a Hornet for three seasons.

   There is no way to think about those teams without imagining what could have been.

  

Comments

[Mike Lynch]

I ran into Alonzo Mourning years ago shortly after The Sports Authority opened on Independence. We parked near each other in the parking lot and were both walking in to the store. Alonzo is hard to miss. I introduced myself and asked if he was who I thought he was. Nice guy. He was just going into the store to check out some golf clubs and hit some balls into a net. I did see the nastier side, though, as I volunteered regularly for the Hornets. Still, that one encounter is the one I choose to remember.

[ben]

off topic slightly...but i drew inspiration for my work-outs at the Central Y by gazing across at the huge collage of 'zo, buggsy, and johnson. those were the days!

[Chris]

1. Kobe Bryant :) - even though he never played for us. Even the few minutes associated with Charlotte were our best.
2. LJ
3. Glen Rice
4. Zo
5. Somebody stop me!?!? Muggsy...

[RR]

Uhhhh Glen Rice?

[jon]

Uhhhhh J.R.

[Ryan]

Dell Curry

[Original Bug Fan]

Mourning might have been the "best," as in most talented. Greatest has to be Dell Curry. He stuck around for years, coming off the bench, and is still associated with the pro game here in Charlotte, even though he's quickly becoming a footnote to Stephen. Glen Rice was mighty good in the late 90s. I don't think we give that enough mention.

[Will]

Grandma-ma...Larry Johnson. The only Hornet to ever get some national attention as an endorsement guy.

[psw1151]

Favorite play...Hornets and Boston in a playoff game. Xavier McDaniel is guarding Curry, giving him a few bumps and a bit of a rough time. Dell leads Xman across the lane, where Larry Johnson flattens him.
Those were fun days when the games were sold out and loud, with each game an event not to miss.

[psw1151]

Favorite play...Hornets and Boston in a playoff game. Xavier McDaniel is guarding Curry, giving him a few bumps and a bit of a rough time. Dell leads Xman across the lane, where Larry Johnson flattens him.
Those were fun days when the games were sold out and loud, with each game an event not to miss.

[Allan Anderson]

In the Early days of the Charlotte Hornets,
consider Kurt Rambis, Robert Reed, and Rex Chapman in addition to the other players
previously mentioned.

[Cedar Posts]

Speaking of the old days, the Hornet name belongs in Charlotte. New Orleans Hornets doesn't work any better than Jazz works in the Mormon home land of Salt Lake City.

Bob's Cats has always been a terrible name and it sure doesn't work in Charlotte.

Despite the Bobcats record setting lack of attendance, I'm convinced that a competitive team, one that may lose, better than 50% but by less than ten, made up of players who are well known, who enjoy the game and each other would be a great draw, even if they never made the playoffs.

No one wants to watch a bunch of felons, wife beaters and whiners drag their sad egos and make a half hearted attempt to play basketball like it was a one on one competition.

[george shinns ghost]

i still remember that draft lottery when we got second pick to get him,very exciting moment. I also remember him destroying a great team because he couldn't get over larry johnson getting paid more than him. What a waste. It's a shame he ever won a title with the heat. Walked past kids wanting autographs. Real jerk

[Ikumah]

Wow, the Charlotte Hornets organization made a lot of bad player management decision. The trade for Alonzo mourning was not bad, but the heat won out on that one. Glen Rice was a good player but never a guy to build a team around like Alonzo was. Then they had to first round draft picks in the 1996 N.B.A. draft and they drafted Tony Delk and Kobe Bryant. Kobe Bryant was a great draft pick, very one know he was going to be great. But I guess the Hornets organization did not want to wait for him to develop into the great player he was destiny to be; so they traded him to the Las Angeles Lakers for Vlade Divac. That trade not only changed the future of those to N.B.A. franchise, the future of the N.B.A. it is very obvious who got the best of that deal. Tony Delk turned out to be an o.k. N.B.A. player; he played pretty good when he played in Phoenix and Atlanta. There were a few other names that were still on the draft broad when Tony Delk was picked, a few guys by the names of Jermaine O'Neal, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Derek Fisher and even Ben Wallace. Decisions like these have kept the Hornet organization in the back of the pack. The Orlando Magic has reached the N.B.A finals and has a chance to reach there again this year. The Miami Heat Has won a N.B.A. championship and came in the N.B.A. the same time. Hopefully this new Charlotte Hornet Organization will make better decision then the first. In my opinion Alonzo Mourning the greatest Hornet player ever, because of what he did for the franchise when he was a player and his effect on the team when heat left. I am a huge heat fan, so I would like the thank the Charlotte Hornets for that Alonzo Mourning trade.

[John]

Good NBA player yes, great person, not a chance. I had an interaction with him at my place of business (I worked at a national office products store in Charlotte while I was paying my way through college). I came up to ask if he needed any help and was accosted by him. Apparently he thought the words "can I..." were to be followed by "get your autograph" or any one of a hundred things that fans who see sports figures out in the public ask. I was only asking if he needed help choosing a PDA.

Granted this was one interaction. He might have some redeeming qualities. This tarnished my outlook on professional athletes (one exception- I met Bobby Phills at the sports restaurant near the old coliseum and he was a class act).

[Dan]

Why has no one mentioned Kelly Tripuka? Best Hornet ever!

[Neu]

Larry Johnson was and still is the biggest star Charlotte ever had...combination of talent and marketability. I've had a chance to be around all of them for seasons...Happy Larry Johnson was unmatched..

[irfan aziz]

zoo was the best with miami heat..and he shall remain like that..