CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The presence of rapper/basketball player Percy "Master P" Miller turned an ordinary intrasquad scrimmage into one of the wildest afternoons in Charlotte history Saturday.

    If you were at the Charlotte Coliseum, you won't soon forget it.

   There were 15,371 fans in attendance at the free scrimmage. Some of the showed up at 7 a.m. for the 12:30 p.m. contest.

   The Hornets had to open the gates 20 minutes earlier than they planned at 11:25 a.m., for fear that some of the folks near the front would get crushed.

   Most of the fans came to see Master P, a star in the rap worlf and a bench warmer at best in the NBA.

   Master P brought the noise, the funk and a bunch of music industry buddies like Fish Daddy and Cat-X. Master P got three times the applause than anyone else when introduced. When the 28-year-old, former Continental Basketball Association guard hit a three-pointer, the sound was so deafening you would have thought he had won the NBA Championship.

   Important question No. 1: Can Master P play?

   Well, not really, not at the NBA level. But on Saturday he didn't embarrass himself.

   Miller scored nine points - only two less than Hornets' free agent Derrick Coleman. Master P hit 3-of-6 shots, passed out four assist and made one turnover. He played along with the crowd some, but mainly stuck to basketball, trying to shush the fans if they called his name to loudly.

   "Goodbye MJ, Hello Master P," one sign read.

   And as ridiculous as that sounds, it's true that Master P certainly reaches out to an audience the Hornets don't normally attract.

   About 90 percent of the crowd at a Hornets game is usually white. About 80 percent of the crowd Saturday were black.

   "Master P was our ace in the hole," Anthony Mason said. "He showed he can play a little ball, too."

   "What a following that guy has," said Coleman, who was captured by TV cameras giving Master P the middle finger, apparently in jest. while on-court. "I've never seen a crowd quite like that at an NBA game. It was great."

   Said Master P: "Michael Jordan always had the fans' attention. Why can't Master P get the fans' attention now?"

   He sure had it Saturday. A number of the fans at the Coliseum had never seen any type of Hornets' game before in person, including Dianne Thrower, a 20-year-old junior at UNCC.

   She has all of his CDs. She brought half of a T-shirt that she had once caught at a Master P concert - the shirt had been flung up in the air, and someone else had torn apart the other half in the struggle.

   "Master P is a great role model in my life," Thrower said.

   Charlene Phifer, 36, came with her 15-year-old daughter in search of his autograph after the scrimmage was over.

   "This is a good PR move for the Hornets," Phifer said. She gestured at the crowd. "Look at this. It doesn't matter how bad they are this season - keep Master P on the team and they'll sell all the games out."

   Important question No. 2: Can the Hornets afford to cut Master P now?

   No. Not right away.

   The Hornets can keep 14 players, rather than the normal 12, through Feb. 19 as part if the post-strike agreement. They need to sell tickets. They open with four straight home games. They'd be smart to keep him at least through Feb. 10, when that home stand ends.

   The Hornets certainly got a lesson in understanding the Master P effect Saturday. They had expected a crowd closer to 8,000. The team had to call additional police officers Saturday to make sure the postgame autograph session didn't turn ugly.

   Master P began the game on the bench. After three minutes of that, the crowd was already growing restless.

   "We Want P! We Want P!" the fans screamed.

   Paul Silas, coach of the Teal team, heard the chant.

   "I'm thinking that I better get him in there in a hurry," Silas said later. Master P ended up playing about half the game.

   At the autograph session, Master P was again the star.

   The first 1,200 fans inside the Coliseum eached received a coupon good for one autograph from a Hornet.

   But they didn't know until they reached the front of the line which player they would get,

   The coupons were color-coded. The lucky color was pale pink. That was Master P. Fans kept trying to sneak into his line - Charlene Phifer did this successfully - and there was even some scalping going on of pale pink coupons.

   If this is all just a poblicity stunt, the Hornets could not have dreamed up a better one.

   Percy Miller, better known as Baton Rouge-based rap start Master P, is getting a tryout with the Charlotte Hornets. The multimillionaire entrepeneur played point guard with the CBA's Fort Wayne Fury this season, averaging 1.9 points, 1.6 rebounds and 0.5 assists in eight games. Saturday Miller participated in a scrimage that the Charlotte Hornets held, and an estimated 10,000 fans attended the scrimage just to get Master P's autograph.

   Raymond Emile Poole, a Morgan City native known by the stage name Mo B. Dick, performed live for the 26th annual American Music Awards on Jan. 11.

   Poole, the son of Raymond and Ann Poole of Morgan City, performed his golf single "I Miss My Homies" while his cousin, Master P., who also has roots in Morgan City, and rapper Silkk The Shocker chanted his lyrics with him.

   He shared the stage the stage that night with other such well-known performers such as Garth Brooks, Celine Dion, and Will Smith.

   Matser P., CEO of the Baton Rouge-based No Limit Records, captured the Rap/Hip Hop Artisy of the Year award, besting such notables as Puff Daddy and The Beasty Boys.

   Pools and the Beat by the Pouns production team of No Limit Records produced more than 300 songs in 1998 alone, dominating the "Billboard" charts and sales figures.

   The team has been featured in publications such as "Source," "Vibe" and "Rap Pages." The group has even tried its hand at movie sound tracks, producing songs for several movies including "I Got the Hook Up" and "Rhymes and Reasons."

   Poole credits his success to a strong belief in God and to the people who supported him in making his ambitions a reality.

   His advice to other aspiring artists? "Never give up on your dreams and always do the right thing."

   EDGARD - A rap artist caught speeding while armed last year in St. John the Baptist Parish received a six-month suspended jail term and $500 fine after pleading guilty to illegally carrying a firearm, state District Judge J. Sterling Snowdy said.

   In return, the District Attorney's Office agreed to frop a charge of unlawful use of body armor against Corey Miller of Baton Rouge.

   Miller was arrested in March after a Louisiana State Police helicopter clocked him doing 80 mph in a 70-mph zone on Interstate 10, officials said.

   Miller, 22, who performs under the stage name C-MURDER, caused a stir in the Edgard courthouse when he appeared Monday with his entourage, including Baton Rouge attorney Roy Maughan Jr. and O.J. Simpson defense attorney Johnnie Cochran, Snowdy said.

   Cochran has represented Miller and his older brother, entrepreneur Master P, or Percy Miller, in their personal and business dealings in Los Angeles, Maughan said. Master P is the owner and founder of the hugely successful No Limit Records.

   Cochran had a personal interest in the case because of Corey Miller's relationship with Master P, said Maughan, who represents the Millers and No Limit Records in Louisiana. He was there to offer support to Corey Miller and render whatever help he could.

   When State Police pulled Miller over for speeding, the rapper had a semiautomatic handgun in his waistband and wore a bulletproof vest. The pickup truck he was driving also had been reported stolen.

   It is illegal to wear body armor while carrying a concealed weapon. State Police said Miller's handgun was concealed, while Miller maintained it was sticking out of his waistband.

   Last July, Miller paid an $81 court fee to settle the speeding charge, and a charge for driving without a license was dropped officials said. A charge of possession of stolen property was also dropped after Miller proved that he bought the truck at an auction.