Roughly 90 minutes before tipoff, Wizards interim coach Ed Tapscott walked up to the marker board in the visiting locker room to jot down his team's game plan for the Rockets.
But before he did, he set marker to board and in neat script wrote: "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." - Aristotle
Since Tapscott took over after the Wizards' 1-10 start, his players have talked about the brains of their new coach. He's one of the few men to earn a law degree before joining the front office of an NBA team. His fondness for using motivational quotes from great thinkers - and not from within the sports world - further attests to his intellect.
Tapscott shrugged off his use of the Aristotle quote, though.
"You know what it does? It gives me something to talk about," he smiled. "So not only do I coach, but I edify at the same time. So it makes me think I'm doing something."
He laughed before conceding: "No, I do like quotes. I do like themes that folks can grasp onto. It says something when the same types of values and cultures you speak to come with the imprint of a famous name. So it'll be interesting to see who can identify Aristotle. You get different books that have motivational quotes of that sort, and I think they have some value. I really do."
WASHINGTON Wizards at NEW ORLEANS Hornets
When: 8 p.m.
Where: New Orleans Arena
TV/radio: Ch. 50, ESPN 980
Probable starters: Wizards - F Dominic McGuire,
F Antawn Jamison, C Andray Blatche,
G Nick Young, G Mike James.
Hornets - F Peja Stojakovic, F David West,
C Tyson Chandler, G Rasual Butler, G Chris Paul.
Injuries: Wizards - Out: C Brendan Haywood (wrist), G Gilbert Arenas (knee). Day-to-day:
G Caron Butler (ankle). Hornets - None.
