AJC > Sports > Hawks > Blog > Archives > 2008 > September > 29
Monday, September 29, 2008
Hope you made it
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
SMYRNA - To work, home, school or wherever it is you were headed this morning.
Having been in and out of Atlanta over the past three weeks, I was stunned to come home this past week and discover the gas crisis currently strangling us all in the metro area.
Let’s hope all the Hawks make it to media day this afternoon. With their first controversy free training camp in years just hours away, there’s no need for anyone to muddy up the waters by getting stranded on 75 with no gas (how much does it cost to fill up Range Rover anyway? I’m taking MARTA if necessary).
Seriously, though, how refreshing must it be for the Hawks (and all their fans) to have a team show up for training camp with a legitimate shot at making some noise (again) this season?
We haven’t been here in the recent past. What with coaching hot seats, contract extension drama and the obligatory injury news sorry Mr. Claxton) always dominating the headlines, it’s a new twist for the Hawks to show up so fresh and clean for camp.
The Hawks did take care of a little bit of housecleaning the past few days by exercising the contract options on both Al Horford and Acie Law IV and announcing the hiring of both Mark Price (shooting coach/consultant) and Duane Ferrell (player relations program manager), adding a decidedly Georgia Tech flavor to the operation.
Making the moves on Horford and Law was a no-brainer, and the organization is surely prepared to pay up for Horford in the near future (since he’ll command a huge raise in another year).
Adding both Price and Ferrell to the mix were shrewd moves as well. If you’re going to add a shooting “specialist” to your staff it usually helps if he was a sniper himself. And Price was one of the best of his era. Ferrell’s best work as a pro came in a Hawks’ uniform. He’s also a familiar face to folks around town who the Hawks will want to identify as fans now that they’ve actually got some ammunition to court them with (a trip to the playoffs, no matter how you come by it, is the right kind of fuel for a quick sales pitch).
The finalized training camp roster was also unveiled, and there were no surprises there either. I know they won’t actually hit the practice floor until tomorrow morning, but there are a couple of interesting training camp tussles on the horizon for this 18-man group that will interesting to watch.
Battle No. 1 - For the roster spot Mario West held down last season. Surely some people will assume that Thomas Gardner is a better shooter and a little bigger than West. But there’s more competition, namely from a rookie from Cal-State Fullerton by the name of Frank Robinson. According to many observers, he was tremendously impressive during workouts all summer (he was on the summer league team) and will make some noise in camp if given the opportunity. West is relentless and will wage a nasty campaign to hold on that spot. So expect fireworks for as long as the entire group remains intact.
Battle No. 2 - Everyone that’s seen Solomon Jones this summer and in particularly in recent weeks insist that this talk of his physical improvement isn’t just bluster. He’s coming into his own, from all accounts, and that means there is going to be some serious ‘bow throwing for those backup minutes at center and power forward. Zaza Pachulia and Randolph Morris are also in that mix. But there is no predetermined order here. It’s a wide-open race for those minutes and the most aggressive and consistent performer at the spot will win the role. Another boost, even if its just mental, is the four players on the roster listed at 6-10 or taller (Horford is on the borderline but we’re going with listed heights here). Olumide Oyedeji (6-10) and Marcus Hubbard (6-9) also push that envelope, though neither is expected to be around by the time the regular season starts.
Battle No. 3 - Mike Bibby owns the starting point guard spot but there is still some debate as to who will be his primary backup. Logic would dictate that Acie Law IV be the shoe-in candidate for the job. But Speedy Claxton, who appears to be fit to play after so many of us assumed his career was done last year, will have something to say about who plays where. And I continue to believe that Flip Murray could very well be the bailout plan (that was a cheap one, sorry, but I’m trying to stay on message here) at the point. Training camp is the time to discover all the possibilities at your disposal, making training camp an intriguing time for Hawks coach Mike Woodson and his staff.
