Atlanta Hawks

After Leaving Cleveland  I went to Atlanta and joined the Hawks a week before training camp. I felt good about the opportunity to make the team although they had several people at my position on contract. The start of training camp was an adjustment period for me because of the new concepts, plays, and drills. Adjusting socially was somewhat easier to do although it wasn’t perfect. Coming from college to the NBA involves adjusting to personalities and situations that aren’t common on the collegiate level. The next few days of training camp were much smoother for me as I got more comfortable with Coach Woodson, his system, and my teammates. Just as I started to get more comfortable in the practice setting, I pulled my hamstring and was sidelined for nearly two weeks. I was very disappointed and felt that my chances of making the team had been destroyed. I tried to make the best of the situation by making that a time to learn a lot by watching the veteran point guards. Tyrone Lue was one of the players I watched most because of his veteran status and knowledge of the game.  Tyrone and I became good friends as he taught me some intangibles of being a great point guard and considering we already knew each other through my brother before I came to the Hawks.

When I wasn’t learning how to be a great point guard we all played competitive ping pong games in the player‘s lounge.  Dominque Wilkins and Al Hortford were probably the best followed by Marvin Williams, Tyrone Lue, and Joe Johnson.  Including Dominque, I saw a lot of legends, but I knew why I was there (business) and didn’t get overwhelmed.  I stayed focused.

As exhibition games started, I was still sidelined because of my hamstring injury so I didn’t dress in the first three games. The fourth exhibition game I was cleared to play and came back. It was against the Portland Trailblazers where I got good playing time and played a solid game. The next few exhibition games didn’t go the same, as I got little to no playing time. I was released from the Atlanta Hawks after the last exhibition game against the New Orleans Hornets.