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Scott Fowler: Alonzo Mourning trade changed Hornets. He would've stayed for 'a lot less money.'

Scott Fowler, The Charlotte Observer on

Published in Basketball

— SF: You went to Georgetown for college. Was that a difficult choice?

— AM: No, it was not. I narrowed my list down to five schools: Maryland, Virginia, Georgia Tech, Syracuse and Georgetown. All great universities, and all great basketball programs at that time.

Big John Thompson, God rest his soul, he wanted to be the last to make his pitch. So all the other coaches came. (Maryland’s) Bob Wade, (Georgia Tech’s) Bobby Cremins, (Virginia’s) Terry Holland, (Syracuse’s) Jim Boeheim. They all said, “Hey, we’re gonna give him this and he’s gonna start.” Just talking about all these different accolades I was gonna receive without even having to work.

So Big John came, and he looked Ms. Threet straight in the eye and said: “Look. He’s got to work for everything he gets. If he wants to start, he’s got to earn it. But I’ll promise you this: If he comes to my university, he’s gonna graduate.”

That put her over the top. She looked at me and she’s like: “I know where you’re going: You’re going to Georgetown.”

— SF: The Hornets drafted you in 1992. What were your impressions of the Hornets before you got here?

 

— AM: Exciting team. The colors? Very vibrant.

People were attracted to the “new kids on the block.” New franchise. Grandmama (Larry Johnson). Little Muggsy (Bogues). And I was like: “Wow, I can help that team.”

— SF: In 1993, you hit a jumper from the top of the key to win a playoff series against the Boston Celtics in Charlotte. This continues to be known as the greatest shot in Hornets history and is immortalized in a museum exhibit in Charlotte. What do you remember about it?

— AM: I remember it clearly. Nothing foggy about it. The play was drawn up either to get the ball to LJ or Dell (Curry). Dell inbounded the ball and he was supposed to get it again, if we couldn’t get it to LJ. And when I caught it, I was wide open. And the clock was running down.

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