One tough Bobcat

After a dismal shooting night, Charlotte Bobcats rookie Adam Morrison sat in front of his locker, head bowed as he tried to explain a one-for-eight performance.

At his feet was a duffel bag full of energy bars and apple juice, reminders of what he’s overcome to get this far.

“It’s something I’ve got to work through,” Morrison said of his shooting woes. “I’ve worked through it before and gone through adversity.”

It wasn’t that long ago that Morrison sat in a hospital room, a 14-year-old listening as a doctor told him he was a Type 1 diabetic -- a diagnosis he figured would end his NBA dreams. But as the doctor started to rattle off the diabetic athletes who played professionally -- hockey Hall of Famer Bobby Clarke, nine-time baseball All-Star Ron Santo and longtime NBA player Chris Dudley -- a new goal came into focus.

“Right after that, the nurse came in to give him the second insulin shot and he told her, ‘You better show me how to do this, because I’m going to be doing it for the rest of my life,’ ” recalled his father, John.

Today, the 22-year-old Morrison is the only known diabetic in the NBA. Dudley, the league’s last active player with the disease, hopes that doesn’t become an issue as Morrison struggles to improve a shooting percentage that hasn’t moved above 40 percent all season and to get quicker as a defender, where he’s often been a step slow.

But after going 10 of 43 during a five-game stretch, Morrison rebounded this week to score 21 and 27 points in back-to-back games.

“If he struggles in the midseason, people may talk about his diabetes,” Dudley said. “But every rookie goes through that. Every rookie hits the wall at some point. I hope people don’t blame the guy if he struggles.”

About 21 million Americans have diabetes, which affects the body’s ability to make or properly use insulin. Type 2 diabetes is the most common and involves the destruction of insulin-producing cells, in part because of obesity or poor diet. Morrison has the less-common Type 1. His body cannot make insulin, which it needs to convert sugar from food into energy.

If left untreated, diabetics can experience heart and kidney problems, blindness and even death. They’re told to closely monitor their diet and get plenty of rest. Morrison set a daily routine and settled on having the same meal before every game: a steak and baked potato exactly two hours before tipoff.

It worked. Morrison went on to have a stellar high school career in Spokane, Wash., before starring at Gonzaga, where he was the top scorer in college basketball last season at 28.1 points per game. He did it while constantly testing his blood-sugar level, up to four or five times during the day and nearly every timeout during a game.

Bobcats trainer Joe Sharpe got Morrison’s system down during the preseason and keeps the bench stocked with apple juice and energy bars. There’s also insulin on hand should Morrison’s blood sugar get too high.

“I try to make it as quick as possible,” Sharpe said. “I have his kit ready to go. He sits down, pricks his finger and gets his reading. I then give him what he needs.”

Morrison took great care to make sure he would be ready to play at the pro level and deal with the disease. Earlier this year he met with Dudley, who spent 16 seasons in the NBA before retiring in 2003.

“I told him you’re not going to be perfect, but you have to be careful,” Dudley said. “Talking to teams about Adam before the draft, I told them if Adam was the kind of player that you had to worry about being overweight during the summer and all those things, I’d be a lot more worried about him. I’m not worried about that with Adam. He’s the type of guy who knows his body and is going to take care of his body.”

When Dudley first entered the league in 1987, it took 45 seconds to test his blood sugar. The technology has improved. Morrison recently signed an endorsement deal with LifeScan, which makes a device that gives a reading in five seconds.

When Morrison’s blood sugar is too high or low, he feels sluggish on the court. But he feels he’ll be able to adjust to the grind of an 82-game NBA schedule.

“Obviously, you have to take care of your body,” Morrison said. “It’s definitely different than college.”

After signing a rookie contract that pays more than $3 million a season, Morrison has taken advantage of his new wealth. He’s hired a full-time chef, had meetings with a nutritionist, and his sister and 5-year-old niece moved to Charlotte to help with his off-the-court responsibilities.

That maturity was one of the reasons the Bobcats didn’t shy away from selecting Morrison with the No. 3 pick. Bobcats Coach and General Manager Bernie Bickerstaff thinks Morrison will become a consistent scorer despite what so far has been up-and-down play.

“One thing I tell my young rookies is, ‘Do what got you here,’ ” Bickerstaff said. “In Adam’s case, that is scoring the basketball.”

Dudley, who runs a foundation that helps kids deal with diabetes, believes the high-profile Morrison will raise awareness for the disease.

“We all want a cure and we’re trying to get a cure, but in the meantime these kids have to deal with diabetes and we try to get the message out that they can succeed,” Dudley said.