Hunter hopes job is in the bag

Othello Hunter wasn’t within earshot Friday when several of his Hawks teammates were arguing over who would get the rookie free agent on their side in scrimmages during practice.

“He’s our No. 1 draft pick,” Josh Smith said, speaking for the starters.

“If we get ‘O’ we’re coming at y’all every day,” Flip Murray said, serving as the spokesman for the second unit.

By the time Hunter made it to his locker, the playful debate about whose team he would join had ended, which is fitting because Hunter’s ability to sidestep unnecessary attention is one of his more bankable traits.

That he was the topic of discussion in any NBA locker room is a remarkable story in itself when you consider that Hunter has been playing basketball for only six years.

A football player during his adolescent years in Winston-Salem, N.C., Hunter chose to bag groceries at a store so he could have his own money instead of playing basketball.

But by the time he reached his junior year, an unexpected growth spurt made him an odd sight, a 6-foot-8 bagger with a 7-foot-3 wingspan.

“I can’t tell you how many times somebody asked me if I played basketball, or ‘What are you doing in here,’ ” the soft-spoken Hunter said and then laughed.

“But I didn’t mind that. I liked working so I could have money for myself and stop asking my parents for money.”

Basketball will take care of that for now.

Hunter went undrafted after a solid career at Ohio State, dashing his dreams of being drafted by his home-state Charlotte Bobcats —- whom the Hawks play tonight in an eshibition game in Charlotte.

Coincidentally, it was a mini-camp stint with the Bobcats (and a glowing recommendation from Bobcats coach Larry Brown to Hawks coach Mike Woodson) that helped him land on the Hawks’ summer-league team, where he impressed enough to earn an invitation to training camp.

He has continued to impress —- his instincts, high basketball IQ and non-stop motor on display in every practice —- and has staked his claim to one of the Hawks’ 15 roster spots.

“He’s just a very humble kid, and he works,” Woodson said. “The thing I really love about him is he doesn’t try and do anything he can’t do. He tries to defend and rebound. If he gets a touch or two on the offensive end, he’s fine. But big guys in this league, if you just defend and rebound, you’re going to play in this league for a long time.”

Woodson said Hunter reminds him of two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year Ben Wallace, saying Hunter is a “somewhat undersized ‘big’ that works super hard” who will surprise people who underestimate him.

“Like Ben at the same stage of his career, Othello does things you don’t think he can do because he doesn’t look that physical,” Woodson said, “but he’s stronger than what you think.”

Hunter is a slender 225 pounds and is working to pack more muscle on his frame. How quickly that muscle comes will go a long way toward determining just how much time he logs this season with the Hawks, and whether the Hawks send him to the NBDL for some extra seasoning.

For a guy who worked out for 13 teams, making it this far would seem like enough. But not for Hunter, who tested his mettle against Greg Oden, the NBA’s No. 1 overall draft pick in 2007, in practices at Ohio State.

“It’s weird,” Hunter said. “I had 15 workouts scheduled, and not one of them was with [the Hawks]. My agent told me the Hawks were interested and that they called at the last minute, but I was focused on the Bobcats, being from North Carolina and everything.

“But something told me to come here because I thought this might be a better situation.”