Smoltz holds his own in Dream workout

Print
E-mail

By Pierce W. Huff

For the AJC

Former Braves right-hander John Smoltz has been all over the place in his first year away from baseball.

Enlarge photo

Atlanta Dream's Sancho Lyttle drives the ball around John Smotlz during morning practice at the Zelnak Center on the campus of Georgia Tech Friday, June 25, 2010. Smoltz joins a team of volunteer men who help scrimmage with the Dream.

Vino Wong, vwong@ajc.com Atlanta Dream's Sancho Lyttle drives the ball around John Smotlz during morning practice at the Zelnak Center on the campus of Georgia Tech Friday, June 25, 2010. Smoltz joins a team of volunteer men who help scrimmage with the Dream.

More photos

Latest Georgia sports news »

Smoltz works as a color analyst on local and national major league baseball games. He also tried but failed to qualify for the U.S. Open last month.

The unofficial “John Smoltz Life After Baseball Tour” found Smoltz in an unfamiliar spot Friday, practicing with the Dream at Georgia Tech.

The practice was Smoltz’s way of promoting the Dream and drawing attention to women’s professional sports, and when it was over he realized that he chose the right professional sport to pursue when he was younger.

“I don’t know if I made [Michigan State men’s basketball coach Tom Izzo] proud as much as I enjoyed the experience today with some of the greatest female basketball players in the world,” Smoltz said. “You look from afar, and you don’t realize how quick, how strong and how talented they are. So, it was a great experience.”

After practicing with the Dream, Smoltz said with a sly smile on his face that he has no plans to try out for the NBA.

“If I was younger I would definitely try basketball, but being 43 I’m reduced to the city leagues and rec basketball, and that’s fine with me,” he said.

But Smoltz, who was an All-State high school basketball and baseball player in Michigan, was serious about his love for the sport that he almost chose over baseball and his desire to help increase awareness of women’s sports.

“I love basketball,” Smoltz said. “I’ve played all of my life. With five girls at home in my household, the experience with the Atlanta Dream and anything about getting girls to come out and play sports is a great thing.”

Because he tries to play pick-up basketball games three days a week, he was able to hold his own against the Dream’s players, who play against a group of five to seven men in every practice.

Playing with guys ranging in age from 18 to 31, Smoltz wore a red Dream practice jersey and drained 3-pointers from behind the free-throw line and in the corners. He played solid post defense against the Dream’s Sancho Lyttle and Yelena Leuchanka. He also was able to sneak into the passing lanes and get a few steals.

“I think [Smoltz] is a great athlete,” Dream general manager/coach Marynell Meadors said. “Our players absolutely fell in love with him.”

Still, there were times when Smoltz was reminded of his age. The Dream players ran him up and down the court, leaving him with his hands on his hips.

Smoltz said there is a big difference between baseball and basketball practices.

“The sport of baseball is a reactionary sport,” he said. “Everybody does their stuff. You do rely on everybody, but it’s not like if they don’t make the cuts or make the plays right in basketball, it can affect the whole team and they can make somebody look pretty bad, too.

"So, you’ve got to know each other’s rhythms, each other's tendencies, and you’ve really got to have a feel for the game, and you’ve got to adjust on the fly.”

At one point Smoltz was offered a chance to play baseball and basketball at Michigan State, but instead he was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 22nd round of the 1985 amateur draft and chose a life of baseball.

“[When I was high school] I was a fundamentally sound, free-throwing-shooting, ball-faking freak,” Smoltz said. “I wasn’t as fast."

AJC Marketplace

Smart Shopping
starts here!
This week's inserts | Today's Deals | Grocery Coupons