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Buzz City Beat: Charlotte Hornets’ Fund Scholarships, Batum Struggles to Score

By Jerry Stephens

Jan 23, 2017; Charlotte, NC, USA; Charlotte Hornets guard Kemba Walker (15) signs an autograph for Nick Sharpe before the game against the Washington Wizards at the Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 23, 2017; Charlotte, NC, USA; Charlotte Hornets guard Kemba Walker (15) signs an autograph for Nick Sharpe before the game against the Washington Wizards at the Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe-USA TODAY Sports /
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Welcome to Buzz City Beat, Swarm and Sting’s daily update on the latest news and stories surrounding the Charlotte Hornets.

After winning three straight games, the Charlotte Hornets fell to the Washington Wizards at home. In this edition of Buzz City Beat, we look at the team funding college scholarships, Kemba Walker falling out of the MVP race, and Nicolas Batum‘s scoring struggles.

Hornets’ Players Fund College Scholarships

“The Charlotte Hornets players and coaches knew they wanted to do something in response to the unrest in Charlotte in the fall. But they didn’t want to do just anything. Months of thought and research later, the Hornets will fund two $60,000 college scholarships and establish a mentoring program for those two scholarship winners. Point guard Kemba Walker, power forward Marvin Williams and coach Steve Clifford were the driving forces in this gesture.” (CharlotteObserver.com)

Credit to the Hornets’ players and coaches for getting this done and helping out their community. It is always nice to give back and this is the perfect response to the unrest in Charlotte. Investing in the future is one of the most important things we as humans can do.

More from Swarm and Sting

Kemba Falls Out of MVP Ladder

“Now to this week’s KIA Race to the MVP Ladder: James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Isaiah Thomas, Stephen Curry, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kawhi Leonard, DeMar DeRozan, John Wall.” (NBA.com)

After weeks of landing outside the top-10 of Sekou Smith’s MVP Ladder, the Hornets’ guard was finally eliminated from the list completely. He was in the “next five” category for a few weeks but Charlotte’s recent struggles likely took their toll on his case. Kemba Walker will now have to do a lot to get back into the MVP conversation.

Nic Batum Struggles in Loss

“Batum has never been a bastion of consistency, so while a single digit scoring game is disappointing, it isn’t all that surprising. It was the eleventh time this season the Frenchman has failed to score at least 10 points. Batum is now shooting just 32.3 percent from the field over his last five games.” (CBSsports.com)

Next: Four Under the Radar Trades to Help Charlotte

The Charlotte Hornets are paying Nicolas to be their second scoring option every night but after a four-point outing against the Wizards, questions about his scoring ability arise once again. While he has largely been effective this season, his inability to score at times is a problem. At least he can contribute in other ways like assists and rebounds.

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