Kevin Huerter has been 100 percent cleared for all basketball activities after the Hawks’ first-round draft pick had the start of his rookie offseason interrupted by hand surgery.
The Hawks selected Huerter with the 19th pick in the 2018 NBA draft – one of three first-round selections by the team – in June. They selected the shooting guard out of Maryland after he had surgery. Huerter had an undiagnosed torn ligament between his ring and pinkie fingers on this right hand that was discovered during pre-draft workouts.
Huerter worked out for the Hawks before the extent of the injury was discovered and was surgically repaired. He wore a soft cast during his introductory press conference with the Hawks after the draft. The six-week recovery timetable prevented Huerter from playing for the Hawks’ entry in the Utah Jazz and Las Vegas Summer League.
The cast is gone and Huerter can take part in offseason workouts on the court The Hawks begin training camp late next month.
Number change: Huerter wore No. 1 with the Hawks – for a short time and never officially. After being drafted, Huerter selected the uniform number but a month later he switched to No. 3.
The reason? The Hawks’ acquisition of Justin Anderson. The forward was acquired from the 76ers as part of the three-team trade that included the Thunder and included Carmelo Anthony, Dennis Schroder and Mike Muscala.
In a video posted on the Hawks website, Huerter explained his decision.
“For someone like him who is a veteran and wanted to come in and wear that, you know for me it wasn’t too big of a problem,” Huerter said.
Anderson wore No. 1 with the 76ers and Mavericks and at the University of Virginia.
Huerter wore No. 3 at Shenenhehowa High School in upstate New York. He wore No. 4 at Maryland.
Collins in Africa: Second-year forward John Collins had two points, two assists and one rebounds in 10 minutes for Team World in a 96-92 victory over Team Africa on Saturday. Collins was a part of the NBA Africa Game 2018,
The third installment of the exhibition game on the continent was played in Pretoria, South Africa. The game was also played in 2015 and 2017 in Johannesburg.
Danilo Gallinari scored 23 points to lead Team World, who have won all three of the exhibitions. Joel Embiid led Team Africa with 24 points and seven rebounds.
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