Knowing Mookie Blaylock's location on the court at all times was a prerequisite for NBA teams facing the Atlanta Hawks in the 1990s.

It's much harder these days to focus on the elusive former point guard's whereabouts.

Blaylock, now six years out of the league, still lives in metro Atlanta with his family and keeps a very low profile.

But talk of Blaylock has rekindled lately with the Hawks finally snapping the NBA's longest playoff drought. He was at the helm of the team that included Steve Smith and Dikembe Mutumbo the last time Atlanta reached the postseason in 1999.

A superb floor maestro who could dominate a game defensively with his quick hands and great speed, Blaylock was the engine that made that team go.

"He was definitely a leader," said Smith, Blaylock's former backcourt mate and now a TV analyst for the Hawks, "definitely a player I enjoyed playing with and he definitely enhanced my game."

That 1999 Hawks team reached the second round of the playoffs before being bounced by the New York Knicks in a four-game sweep.

Blaylock became the fall guy for the aging team's failings. He was shipped to Golden State later that summer in a three-player deal that allowed Atlanta to draft Jason Terry with the 10th overall pick in one of the team's four first-round selections that year.

The move caught Blaylock by surprise.

"It was very shocking," he said in an interview at the time, "especially when you're with a team that long and you think you're one of the guys that's going to be around and you're going to end your career there. But that's part of the business. I know that's how it goes."

Blaylock's tenure on the West Coast proved somewhat tumultuous as he and then-Warriors coach Dave Cowens clashed. Cowens eventually stripped Blaylock of his captaincy in 2001 after he blew off a practice because it conflicted with a scheduled tee time in golf, the Sporting News reported at the time. Golden State released him in 2002, ending Blaylock's NBA career.

Those who know him best say it's that passion for the links that now drives the former NBA All-Star, who spent seven productive years (1992-99) as the Hawks' stellar floor general.

"If you want to find Mookie, you've got to find a golf course," said Smith. "He's a quiet man who likes to spend time with his family. But when he has time for himself, he'll be out there all day and even into the night."

Blaylock played 13 NBA seasons with the Nets, Hawks and Warriors, but has kept his home in Atlanta.

He and Smith catch up every now and then, but Blaylock has had little other contact with the Hawks organization, team officials said.

A previous commitment even prevented him from attending last fall's 20th reunion of the University of Oklahoma team he helped lead to the 1988 NCAA Tournament final that was won by the Danny Manning-led Kansas Jayhawks.

The Sooners retired Blaylock's No. 10 jersey in 2001.

He's proven equally as reticent with various media outlets looking to catch up with him over the years. He did not return several calls last week requesting an intereview for this story.

"It's hard to get Mookie to do anything," said Lamar University athletics director Billy Tubbs, Blaylock's former college coach at Oklahoma. "I just know Mookie loves to play golf."

A two-time, first-team pick to the NBA's All-Defensive Team, Blaylock finished with career averages of 13.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, 6.7 assists and 2.3 steals per game.

He made his lone All-Star appearance in 1994.

"Mookie doesn't have a whole lot to say," Tubbs said. "He doesn't talk a lot. Mookie was good at Oklahoma because he was good at taking care of his business."

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