With an excused absence from the Hawks' rookie/free agent minicamp last week, Al Horford could have headed for the beach in his native Dominican Republic for a little rest and relaxation after his rookie season.

He sat down with Hawks beat writer Sekou Smith after practice to talk about his whirlwind rookie season, his busy summer and the future of the Hawks.

Q. Didn't you have a doctor's note for this thing, what are you doing here?

A. Honestly, I needed to get back on the court and get some work in before going to [Las Vegas]. I've been working. But this was a chance to get out here with our coaches and guys like Acie [Law IV], Speedy [Claxton], Mario [West], Jeremy [Richardson] and these other guys and that was something I knew would help me get ready for dealing with those guys on the Olympic team. I definitely wanted to be out here getting some good quality time in with these guys.

Q. The level of competition with the Olympic team will certainly be higher than it will be at the Rocky Mountain Revue, is that what appeals most to you about spending time in Vegas over Salt Lake City?

A. I think I'll benefit more as a player from that. When you get a chance to go against the best guys, you can't go wrong. This is my first taste of USA Basketball and that's huge, too. But that elite group, the chance for me to go out there and get that experience, that'll help me out when I'm back in a Hawks uniform.

Q. Will you spend some of that time in Vegas picking the brains of Dwight Howard, Carlos Boozer and Chris Bosh on how to come back for your second NBA season with some new tricks for teams to deal with?

A. Of course. That'll be a good chance for me to talk to some of those top guys, and not just the bigs, but also all of those guys, LeBron [James], Kobe [Bryant] and Dwyane Wade and the coaches, too. I want to know the things they did and didn't do coming off their rookie seasons to get better. I'll try to get as much good advice as I can.

Q. For so long you've been known as a Florida Gator. Has that changed now with the Hawks making the playoffs and the exposure you guys received from that series against Boston?

A. It's funny, that's all anyone [in Gainesville] wanted to talk about when I was down there. I've been home and other places and it's all anyone wants to talk about is the playoffs. It used to be all Florida all the time. But lately it's been about the Hawks. It's weird, it's like some people have actually forgotten that I went to Florida, and it's only been a year [laughing]. I realize that the playoffs was the first chance a lot of people had to see us since we didn't have any nationally televised games before that, so we're still sort of basking in that glow. But everywhere I go people want to talk to me about the Hawks and what we did in the playoffs.

Q. Are you worried at all that you guys are will be leaning on that momentum going into this upcoming season rather than pushing harder to improve upon what you did in the playoffs?

A. That was a good run but it's a new season now. We can take some of the momentum from that but we also have to realize that we didn't accomplish anything other than having a good little run. The sizzle of what we did will fade if we don't play well to start this season.

Q. Was it tough watching the rest of the playoffs after realizing how close you guys were to pulling off that upset of the Celtics?

A. Yeah it was tough. I learned a lot from watching the playoffs and it showed just how well we played. I looked at other teams and how they played the Celtics. When they blew the Lakers out in that deciding game I didn't feel so bad losing to them after all. I thought they were the best team, but you have to prove it on the floor. They proved it.

Q. So much has been made about you playing out of position at center last season, but where are you most comfortable and where do you see yourself being move effective now that you have a year under your belt?

A. I could play a little more [power forward] if they need me to, but I feel comfortable playing at [center] and [power forward]. That's actually one of the reasons that I feel getting Josh Smith back here is so crucial. Because I feel like we have some great mismatches when the two of us are out there together. I think it's what makes both of us more effective, being out there together. We never got totally overwhelmed by anybody. And I can't imagine being out there and him not having my back on every play. What we really need is for [Zaza] to come in and play big minutes so when we do decide to go with different lineups, me playing some at power forward and even Josh playing some at small forward, we have guys that are up to the task.

Q. So much is being made of the free agent status of both Josh Smith and Josh Childress, do you look at the landscape and start peeking ahead to what that's going to be like in a couple of years when you're in the same position?

A. It concerns me because I want to know what I'm working with and where we're going. I don't want to be in a situation where I have to drag something out into training camp and the season starts and you don't know what's going on with your teammate and stuff like that. I'd rather that everything be done, they take care of business now and we're good to go without any unnecessary distractions.