Al Thornton is tired of chasing Corey Brewer around the perimeter. Brewer is bruised after trying to defend Thornton in the paint.
Thornton, the former Florida State star, and Brewer, the most outstanding player in the Final Four for national champion Florida, were together for a fourth straight pre-draft workout Wednesday, this time for the Charlotte Bobcats.
By MIKE CRANSTON
AP Sports Writer
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) – Al Thornton is tired of chasing Corey Brewer around the perimeter. Brewer is bruised after trying to defend Thornton in the paint.
Thornton, the former Florida State star, and Brewer, the most outstanding player in the Final Four for national champion Florida, were together for a fourth straight pre-draft workout Wednesday, this time for the Charlotte Bobcats.
“I’m getting tired of that guy,” Thornton said with a grin. “I see him everywhere.”
The pair also worked out together in Boston, Sacramento and Chicago. They were joined by Thaddeus Young of Georgia Tech during the morning workout for the Bobcats, all part of a whirlwind tour for draft prospects. Some will work out for more than a dozen teams before the June 28 draft.
While Thornton and Brewer can both play small forward, they’re completely different players, making the workouts a challenge.
“Our body types are not similar at all,” Brewer said. “I’m skinny and he’s about a 225-pound muscle man. We have two opposite games, but we play the same position. And we both get it done. I guess you’ve got to see how opposites go against each other.”
Bobcats coach Sam Vincent didn’t know the two had been working out together until they arrived in Charlotte. But he thinks seeing them compete against each other is a good barometer as the Bobcats prepare to make the No. 8 pick.
“Al being more of an inside player that can still shoot the ball from the outside versus Corey being more of an outside player that doesn’t have as much of an inside game, it was nice to see that contrast,” Vincent said. “But obviously our final decision will be based on all of our guys getting together and trying to identify that specific need that we have.”
Thornton would solve a glaring problem for Charlotte: inside scoring. At 6-foot-8 and 220 pounds, Thornton led the Atlantic Coast Conference last season at 19.7 points a game. He also averaged 7.2 rebounds a game, an area where the Bobcats struggled during their 33-49 season.
“That fills that void we’ve been talking about, in terms of getting an inside scorer,” said Vincent, who believes Thornton will be a power forward in the NBA. “But he still has the ability to shoot the 3-point shot.”
The 6-9, 185-pound Brewer, who defended power forwards in college, will end up as either small forward or shooting guard. He’s a better outside shooter than Thornton, and he’s coming off a second straight national championship at Florida.
The Bobcats drafted Emeka Okafor after Connecticut won the national title, and Raymond Felton and Sean May after North Carolina took the championship.
“I think it means a lot to play with guys who are winners,” Brewer said.
Brewer has been projected to go as high as fourth and as low as 14th in the draft. Thornton is slotted to go somewhere between seven and 14. But things could change as they travel from workout to workout, perhaps meeting again.
“I try to give him a little beef,” Thornton said of Brewer. “But I hate chasing him around. Man, I hate chasing that guy around. He never gets tired. He runs forever.”