Kevin Stallings went to the AAU game to see someone else that day.
But it was John Jenkins he ended up noticing.
"John made eight threes," Stallings said. "Needless to say, that caught my attention."
That's how Stallings discovered Jenkins, who played high school basketball in Hendersonville, Tenn., which is a 30-minute drive from Vanderbilt's campus. It wasn't until Jenkins committed to Vanderbilt, won Tennessee's Class AA Mr. Basketball as a high school junior and starred on the summer AAU circuit that other major schools came calling.
The Hawks hope they also will benefit from other NBA teams under valuing Jenkins. Atlanta selected Jenkins with the No. 23 pick in the draft after several projections had Jenkins sliding into the second.
Jenkins added those predictions to the list of doubts about his game and he went about proving wrong.
"I'm very highly motivated, so I didn't need anyone to tell me I was going to go in the second round," Jenkins said on the eve of this week's Hawks minicamp for rookies and NBA hopefuls. "But I definitely wanted to prove I'm better than that."
That Jenkins still had to do some convincing is a testament to how tough it is to play in the NBA. It also highlights how the league's decision-makers have to project talent in the NBA in addition to evaluating it in college.
Jenkins led the SEC in scoring as a sophomore and junior and was named tournament MVP after Vanderbilt upset Kentucky in the final last March. Georgia fans may remember that Jenkins erupted for 28 points at Stegeman Coliseum while taking just 11 shots in February, three days after he scored 26 points with just five field-goal attempts at Ole Miss.
Jenkins was the best perimeter shooter in NCAA Division I last season and among the best the SEC has ever produced.
"You have to violate defensive principles to guard him," Stallings said. "He's such an asset on offense even when doesn't get the ball because, trust me, his guy will be standing right next to him."
The Hawks coveted Jenkins' shooting ability. They believe he can spread the floor for the Hawks the same way he did for Vanderbilt, which had three players drafted by the NBA for the first time in school history [Jenkins, Jeffery Taylor to Indiana, and Festus Ezeli to Golden State].
Jenkins said the decision to leave Vanderbilt after his junior season was "the toughest in my life." It paid off when he got the call from the Hawks while in a Nashville hotel room with friends and family.
"It really hasn't hit me all the way yet," Jenkins said. "You want to be in the NBA, you talk about being in the NBA, but when it finally came I couldn't believe it. To hear David Stern call my name in the first round when a lot of guys didn't think he would, it proves to me that hard work really does pay off."
Jenkins still has much to prove, even in relation to all rookies. NBA scouts value the kind of production Jenkins had at Vanderbilt but lots of players produce in college and the trick is predicting how they fit in the NBA.
That's why there was close scrutiny of Jenkins in spite of his accomplishments at Vanderbilt. Is he athletic enough to defend NBA players? Can he consistently get open for jump shots or drive to the basket? Will he produce with fewer shot attempts?
Jenkins gets his first chance to answer those questions this week. He said he plans to do that and more.
"It's not enough to just be here in the league," he said. "I want to work hard and be an impact player. I know it takes time. Every player that's drafted, they were always the man in college and high school. I want to learn from the guys on the team and go from there. I have no ego. I haven't accomplished anything yet."
