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Emeka Okafor Manny Millan/SI FAST FACTS First season for expansion team Coach: Bernie Bickerstaff 2004 Schedule | 2004 Draft Picks The only Bobcats to average more than 15 minutes last season were Eddie House (19.2 with the Clippers) and Brevin Knight (18.5 with the Bucks). PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP With 2003-04 statistics PRIMOZ BREZEC POS. PVR PPG RPG APG BPG SPG FG% FT% C 140 1.6 0.8 0.2 0.17 0.00 46.2 66.7 EMEKA OKAFOR (R) POS. PVR PPG RPG APG BPG SPG FG% FT% PF 105 17.6 11.5 1.0 1.83 0.39 59.9 51.8 GERALD WALLACE POS. PVR PPG RPG APG BPG SPG FG% FT% SG 128 2.0 2.0 0.5 0.38 0.38 36.0 45.8 JASON HART POS. PVR PPG RPG APG SPG FG% 3FG% FT% PG 168 3.3 1.5 1.5 0.53 44.7 22.2 76.7 JASON KAPONO POS. PVR PPG RPG APG SPG FG% 3FG% FT% SF 170 3.5 1.3 0.3 0.32 40.3 47.7 83.3  BENCH PVR 2003-04 Stats G BREVIN KNIGHT 208 4.7 ppg 2.0 rpg 3.6 apg 1.50 spg 42.7 FG% G EDDIE HOUSE 234 6.8 ppg 2.3 rpg 2.5 apg 1.08 spg 35.9 FG% C-F MELVIN ELY 243 3.7 ppg 2.4 rpg 0.40 apg 43.1 FG% 59.5 FT% G STEVE SMITH 275 5.0 ppg 1.1 rpg 0.21 spg 40.6 FG% 40.2 3FG% C JAHIDI WHITE 289 4.2 ppg 4.2 rpg 0.82 bpg 0.40 spg 52.1 FG%

There's hope for winning hearts and minds -- but little for winning games

Emeka Okafor is not just playing basketball for the expansion Bobcats. He is also playing the lead role in the franchise's version of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Charlotte's attempt to eradicate the memory of its previous team. Two years after the bitter divorce between the Hornets and the city was finalized, wounds remain raw and antipathy for the league runs deep. "We know," says general manager and coach Bernie Bickerstaff, "that we have to win some people back."

Enter Okafor. Taken second in the 2004 draft, out of UConn, the 6'10" center is, unambiguously, the new face of the new team. Within days of his selection his expansive smile was a staple on local billboards and his rumbling voice filled Charlotte airwaves. The franchise printed thousands of OKAFOR IN '04 signs to launch his Rookie of the Year campaign. "I realize the challenge here," Okafor, 22, says. "Whatever they want me to do to help, I'll do it."

His obligations will be just as weighty when the season begins. A polished shot blocker and rebounder, Okafor readily admits that he needs to expand his offensive vocabulary, but he'll have ample opportunities to learn on the job. "I wish I could start playing today," he said on the eve of training camp. "The players are ready, the organization is ready, the fans are ready."

Despite Okafor's best efforts, Charlotte will lose prodigiously this season. Shackled by salary restrictions -- their payroll is capped at $31 million, one third lower than the rest of the teams' -- the Bobcats consist mainly of players known only to hard-core fantasy leaguers. Even in a best-case scenario, Charlotte's new NBA entrant won't have anyone recalling the Hornets teams that routinely made the playoffs. But then, that might not be such a bad thing. -- L. Jon Wertheim