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Jamaal Magloire Bob Rosato/SI FAST FACTS Record: 41-41 (5th in East) Points Scored: 91.8 (17th in NBA) Points Allowed: 91.8 (11th) Coach: Byron Scott (first season with the Hornets) 2004 Schedule | 2004 Draft Picks | 2003 Stats Baron Davis ranked sixth in scoring, fourth in assists and first in steals last season, becoming the first player ever to crack the top six in all three categories. PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP With 2003-04 statistics JAMAAL MAGLOIRE POS PVR PPG RPG APG SPG FG% 3FG% FT% C 55 13.6 10.3 1.0 1.23 0.52 47.3 75.1 P.J. BROWN POS PVR PPG RPG APG SPG FG% 3FG% FT% PF 99 10.5 8.6 1.9 0.91 0.98 47.6 85.4 DAVID WESLEY POS PVR PPG RPG APG SPG FG% 3FG% FT% SG 130 14.0 2.2 2.9 1.16 38.9 32.3 75.3 BARON DAVIS POS PVR PPG RPG APG SPG FG% 3FG% FT% PG 21 22.9 4.3 7.5 2.36 39.5 32.1 67.3 RODNEY ROGERS POS PVR PPG RPG APG SPG FG% 3FG% FT% SF 137 7.8 4.4 2.0 0.86 41.0 32.9 76.5  BENCH PVR 2003-04 Stats G DARRELL ARMSTRONG 133 10.6 ppg 3.9 apg 1.68 spg 39.5 FG% 31.5 F DAVID WEST 185 3.8 ppg 4.2 rpg 0.39 bpg 47.4 FG% 71.3 FT% F GEORGE LYNCH 217 4.8 ppg 4.0 rpg 0.62 spg 39.7 FG% 30.9 3FG% G J.R. SMITH (R) 256 23.9 ppg 5.4 rpg 5.0 spg 54.1 FG% 43.0 3FG% F-C CHRIS ANDERSEN 302 3.4 ppg 4.2 rpg 1.61 bpg 0.48 spg 44.3 FG%

The Big Cat has made big strides, but he'll have his paws full this season

In September 2003, emboldened by the company of 200 friends and family members at a going-away party in his native Toronto, Jamaal (Big Cat) Magloire grabbed the nearest microphone and pledged he'd become an All-Star. Few of the revelers expected he would keep that promise; in his first three seasons as the Hornets' center he'd averaged 7.8 points. But Magloire was not only named to the Eastern Conference team last February, he also ended up its leading scorer, with 19 points. His game got even stronger as the year wore on, his scoring and rebounding averages ballooning with his confidence. "I don't want to be known as just an NBA basketball player," says Magloire, 26, "I want to be known as a great NBA basketball player."

This season he faces much stiffer competition in the Western Conference's new Southwest Division, the home of such big men as Tim Duncan, Yao Ming and Pau Gasol. The 6'11" Magloire put in long hours at the gym, steeling himself for battles in the paint and conditioning himself for the more up-tempo Princeton offense, which suits his strengths as a rebounder and transition scorer. "Once he starts to understand this system and where he's going to get his touches," says new coach Byron Scott, "he's going to flourish."

With his star continuing to rise and his financial future secure -- Magloire signed a three-year, $20.3 million extension hours before last season -- the Big Cat expects to get off to a quick start. Attendance at his send-off this summer in Toronto was more than double that of last year's, and family and friends were breathless in anticipation of another bold prediction. They left disappointed. "We didn't have a mike this year," Magloire says, "so I didn't have a chance to open my mouth." -- Andrew Lawrence