Okafor Prepares To Get Destroyed



From the AP's Jenna Fryer :

Emeka Okafor quickly is learning the dos and don'ts of being an NBA rookie.

Rule No. 1: Don't promise to dunk on Shaquille O'Neal.

Okafor made that mistake last week at a news conference with 300 schoolchildren to promote a preseason game between his expansion Charlotte Bobcats and O'Neal's Miami Heat. Getting little reaction from the crowd, he tried to excite the kids.

"Come on!" he yelled. "Don't you guys want to see me dunk on Shaq?"

Charlotte management, aware of the TV crews in attendance, immediately cringed. In the days since then, the No. 2 pick in the NBA draft has taken a ton of ribbing about it.



(Okafor dunking. On someone much younger and shorter than Shaq)

"Will I dunk on Shaq? The likelihood of that happening is very small," he said. "You've got to put in perspective where I said that."

I can sympathize. "Do you want to see me dunk on Bruno Sundov?" doesn't sound nearly as exciting.

Posted: Tue - October 5, 2004 at 11:05 PM      

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