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C Byron 'B.J.' Mullens (Levanga Hokkaido Sapporo - Japan)

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Charlotte Bobcats? Byron Mullens: A power forward, not center
By Rick Bonnell
[email protected]
Posted: Monday, Mar. 26, 2012

You might want your center to be a 7-footer, but being 7 feet tall does not automatically make you a center.

Charlotte Bobcats coach Paul Silas said before Monday?s game that 7-footer Byron Mullens? future is at power forward, possibly alongside rookie Bismack Biyombo. Mullens just isn?t providing the consistent rebounding and low-post defense Mullens needs at center.

?Byron is not a center? He?s a power forward, but we don?t have a backup center,?? Silas said. ?I just don?t know if you can make a tough guy out somebody who is not (tough.)?

Mullens came to the Bobcats in a preseason trade. The Bobcats sent a 2013 second-round pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Mullens has been solid offensively, averaging 8.9 points, but Silas needs more than the 4.3 rebounds he provides and he doesn?t consistently hold his ground under the rim.

Silas said over the remaining 19 games he?d like to experiment with playing Mullens and Biyombo together. However, even that could be problematic, since Silas is wondering whether the 6-foot-9, 245-pound Biyombo can hold up physically long-term against a steady diet of bigger opponents.

?Basically, I see ?Biz? as a power forward,?? Silas said. ?We don?t have anybody who can be a center for the long haul.??

The Bobcats still owe center Gana Diop about $7.4 million for next season, and Silas wants to use him, perhaps even as a starter. Silas said Diop, currently out with a hamstring strain, has promised to be in Charlotte this season for extensive workouts.
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Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/20...otte-bobcats-byron-mullens.html#storylink=cpy
 
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Mullens replaced Tyrus Thomas as a starter, and responded with 20 points, nine rebounds and two blocks against the Pistons. Mullens has bounced between center and power forward this season, after the Bobcats acquired him from the Oklahoma City Thunder in the preseason.

Mullens is technically a third-year pro, but he totaled just 139 minutes over 26 game appearances with the Thunder. He calls this his rookie season, as far as actually learning what?s expected.

?I?m learning a lot, like pick-and-roll defense and whether to go for a blocked shot or block my man out for a rebound,? Mullens said.

?You really can?t practice anything except shooting (by yourself) and even with that, there?s nothing like game-time (conditions). It?s not the same when you don?t have people running out trying to block you.?

Part of the transition for 7-footer Mullens was the coaches figuring out whether he?s a center or a power forward. Silas ultimately decided he?s a ?stretch-4:? A power forward with the shooting range to spread defenses. That makes him similar to Andrea Bargnani, the Toronto Raptor he?ll likely guard tonight.

Silas loves Mullens? shooting range, but he doesn?t want Mullens constantly defaulting to that skill. Silas believes Mullens is a better low-post scorer than he displays, and that?s something Silas wants to explore the rest of the season.

?He?s got great moves around the basket ? great hooks off both hands,? Silas said. ?Right now he?s always fading away on the jumper. Go to the middle and shoot your hook.?

Everything about Mullens is still in the discovery stage, which makes an international opportunity this summer so intriguing. Since Mullens? mother is British, he?s eligible to try out for their national team, which has an automatic bid to the Olympics as the host country. The British tryout camp convenes in June in Houston.

?That would be great,? Silas said of Mullens playing in the Olympics. ?He needs experience, and that?s certainly a plus.?
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Read more here: http://www.heraldonline.com/2012/04/02/3866910/kemba-walker-byron-mullens-lead.html#storylink=cpy
 
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The Emergence Of Byron Mullens: One of the positive aspects of watching a team in a rebuilding phase like the Bobcats is witnessing the emergence of players who would be buried deep on the bench in other places.

Case in point, Bobcats big man Byron Mullens played a combined 139 minutes during his first two seasons in the league with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Mullens was a true forgotten man, but in Charlotte this season he?s averaging 21 minutes per night and has recorded 12 starts for the franchise.

In the starting lineup Mullens has averaged 12.8 points and 6.4 rebounds, while over his last three starts, Mullens averaged 16 points and 10 rebounds.

If Mullens was still in Oklahoma City this season he would only see the court in garbage time behind Serge Ibaka, Kendrick Perkins and Nick Collison.

We all know Mullens has some offensive spark to his game, but over the second half of the season he?s showed the knack to get down and dirty by rebounding the basketball and becoming more active trying to block shots.

It?s this new-found aggression on the defensive end of the floor which has impressed Kemba Walker the most about his teammate.

?Byron is getting a lot better,? Walker told HOOPSWORLD. ?He can definitely shoot the basketball very well. But his progression has been on the boards. He?s been doing a really good at contesting shots, boxing out and then grabbing rebounds. That?s what we need from him. When his shot isn?t falling he has to realize that he can do other things. Rebounding is one of them. Another thing is blocking some more shots.?

In a season where there haven?t been many positives for the Bobcats faithful to latch on, the play of Walker and Mullens have given glimpses of a solid future.
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http://www.hoopsworld.com/losing-a-hard-lesson-for-kemba-walker

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWD0g74UeQg"]Kemba Walker's Alley-oop to Byron Mullens for the Slam (Bobcats @ Raptors April 3, 2012) - YouTube[/ame]
 
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Byron Mullens off Britain's team
Updated: June 21, 2012
Associated Press

LONDON -- Byron Mullens will miss the London Olympics because of an injury, depriving host Britain of one of its three NBA players.

The Charlotte Bobcats center, who was born in Columbus, Ohio, but has an English mother, is shelved for the tournament because of a long-standing toe problem.

Mullens received his British passport in March and hasn't yet played for Britain.

Britain coach Chris Finch says: "It is disappointing but we have a very strong squad in camp."
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http://espn.go.com/olympics/basketb...byron-mullens-britain-olympic-team-toe-injury
 
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Byron Mullens, Charlotte - The Bobcats' instruction to Mullens after his first season in Charlotte was clear: Add three-point range. Last season, Mullens attempted 51 threes out of 591 shots (8.6 percent). During his first two games in Vegas, that percentage skyrocketed to 42.4 percent (14 of 33). Stepping back a few feet on the court transformed Channing Frye's career, and could have a similar impact in terms of helping Mullens' efficiency. However, this is a process. He made just 2 of his 14 three-point attempts. On the plus side, Mullens somehow pulled of an amazing open-court dunk, perfectly reading a bad pass for a steal in the backcourt and within the same motion gliding to the hoop for a powerful finish. Believe me, this really happened.
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http://www.basketballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=2381

Mullens dunk
 
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