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ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT
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Sweet Charlotte
Former Jumbo cager calms hornets’ nest
as
president of NBA’s Bobcats
by Michael Blanding
The clanging of pans and utensils can be heard in the background
as Ed Tapscott, A75, talks by phone from his home. “I’m
cooking my mother-in-law’s recipe for shrimp creole,” says
the 51-year-old Tufts grad, between stirs of the pot. The dish
is a history-class assignment for his daughter, who is required
to bring in food representing her ethnic background. “These
are the things you have to do if you want to be a good parent,” he
says, “and have been one who’s been largely absent.”
Tapscott has had reason to be away from home lately. As new
president of the Charlotte Bobcats—the latest expansion
team in the National Basketball Association—the former
Tufts basketball player and coach has literally had to build
a basketball team from scratch. And along with it, he’s
had to build bridges to a skeptical city.
Charlotte was once-bitten, twice-shy from its experience with
its last NBA team, the Hornets, which was beset by scandal.
Team owner George Shinn was accused and acquitted of sexual
harassment in a televised trial that scandalized the conservative
southern city. News on court was just as embarrassing, as the
team dumped promising stars such as Kobe Bryant and Alonzo
Mourning for temperamental bad boys like Derrick Coleman. The
final straw was the death of popular guard Bobby Phills while
drag racing his Porsche with another player. The Queen City
had had enough—when Shinn tried to win support for a
new, publicly financed arena, 57 percent of voters said no,
and the Hornets packed up for New Orleans.
“We came into a market that was anywhere from ambivalent
to almost hostile,” says Tapscott. “Making friends
is a big part of what we are doing.” Upon arriving in
Charlotte in January 2003, he spent the first six months simply
soliciting opinions from city leaders on how to market the
team and relate to the community. “One of the things
we heard was that in Charlotte, people want you to be engaged
with their community, so we said okay, that’s what we’ll
do.” Tapscott joined nine local boards, including the
Chamber of Commerce and the YMCA, quickly earning a reputation
for his poise and professionalism. The local paper even named
him “best dressed man” in town. “That was
embarrassing,” jokes Tapscott. “Now I can’t
go out without a crease.”
Building the team proved a more difficult task. “Charlotte
wanted good guys,” he says. “They didn’t
want guys who had difficulties in the past.” In a league
like the NBA, where the best players are often the most flamboyant,
that is more easily said than done. Tapscott and his management
team resisted the urge to sign big stars, setting their sights
instead on Emeka Okafor, a hard-working college student from
Connecticut who led his team to victory in the NCAA. Tapscott
and coach Bernie Bickerstaff worked a complicated series of
deals that allowed them to trade up from the fourth to the
second overall pick in the rookie draft. “It’s
all about circumstance, and we were fortunate enough to find
the right circumstances,” says Tapscott. The moves paid
off this spring when “Mek”—as Okafor is known—was
named Rookie of the Year after a whirlwind season. Now his
jersey is one of the top sellers in the league. “Emeka
Okafor is professional and smart with an incredible sense of
humility,” says Charlotte Observer NBA writer Rick Bonnell, “exactly
the kind of person you want to build an organization around.”
The same could be said of Tapscott, who showed a solid work
ethic of his own as a player at Tufts more than 30 years ago. “He
was always in the gym,” former Tufts coach Tom Penders
told Business North Carolina. “He worked hard at the
game.” Tapscott earned a bachelor’s in political
science in 1975 before becoming a coach himself, first at Tufts,
then at American University (AU) while he earned a law degree.
Upon graduation, he worked for a decade as head coach at AU,
and then for almost another decade in the front office of the
New York Knicks, eventually becoming vice president of personnel
and interim general manager. Soon after, he got the call from
Bob Johnson, founder of Black Entertainment Television and
a friend of 20 years, who asked him to come to Charlotte.
Okafor’s success notwithstanding, last year was a tough
one for the Bobcats, which lost 16 games by three points or
less and finished with an 18–64 record, tying with the
New Orleans Hornets for the second-worst record in the league.
That’s to be expected from a first-year team.“They
haven’t made any mistakes,” says Bonnell, “they’ve
gone to incredible lengths here to bring in people of high
character.” Even so, the sportswriter compares the Hornets
experience with a bad divorce, which takes time to get over. “I
think they are going to have a very hard time reaching the
goals they are expecting in terms of tickets. This is going
to be a long and difficult thing.”
One thing’s for sure: the Bobcats have bent over backwards
to lure new fans, with high-energy soundtracks of hip-hop and
rap, laser shows, male dancers, and a drum court called the
Rhythm Cats. A fan appreciation night included a drawing for
a Mercedes-Benz. Even more inspired, season ticket sales for
next year come with a money-back guarantee. “We did that
because we are so confident we won’t have any takers,” says
Tapscott. Next year, North Carolinians will have more reason
to attend games, with the opening of a state-of-the-art $265
million downtown arena.
“We’ve laid down some solid bricks,” says
Tapscott. “The most important thing is to resist the
temptation of a shortcut. We need to build this thing block-by-block.” As
he finishes up the cooking, it’s clear that even amidst
the pressure he’s a man who has not lost perspective. “I
owe my daughter one,” he says. “This is payback.
I just hope I’ve executed as well with the creole as
we have with the Bobcats.” |
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