AJC: Hawks' players compliment West's hustle.

[mrhonline]

Hawks' West living a dream

In the wake of the Vick disaster, I think Atlanta will warm up to Mario West rather quickly:

Quote:

---

"I played with Ron Artest in Indiana, so I like to think I know a little something about playing hard, but this guy does it in every practice, every game, every shootaround. He never stops," Hawks veteran point guard Anthony Johnson said and then relayed a story about a fantastic West sequence during an exhibition game in Charlotte. "Mario got a tip dunk and sprinted back to half court and was denying his man the ball, and Charlotte hadn't even thrown the ball in bounds yet. It was ... a sight to see. Unbelievable."

---

Quote:

---

Fellow Hawks rookie Al Horford played with Joakim Noah and Corey Brewer, two players revered for their non-stop motors on back-to-back NCAA title teams at Florida. Neither, Horford said, has the extra gear West does.

"Rio is on another level," Horford said. "Consistently, play in and play out, he plays harder than anyone I've ever played with or against. Joakim plays extremely hard, you know, that's what he was known for. But this dude [West] ... he's on another level, man. I'm just glad he's on our team. We need somebody like that."

---

[cyman3]

i feel that West's hustle and hard work wil rub off on the other players. Just seeing another teammate work hard will help all our players.

[Plastic Man]

Quote:

---

"Mario got a tip dunk and sprinted back to half court and was denying his man the ball, and Charlotte hadn't even thrown the ball in bounds yet. It was ... a sight to see. Unbelievable."

---

Wish I could have seen that! That is the attitude we need on the team--takin' care of business. Very rare in the NBA, especially for a rookie.

[Vafan]

Sounds like Bruce Bowen. We need one of those type of guys on this team.

[Swatguy]

Quote:

---

Hawks' West living a dream

In the wake of the Vick disaster, I think Atlanta will warm up to Mario West rather quickly:

Quote:

---

"I played with Ron Artest in Indiana, so I like to think I know a little something about playing hard, but this guy does it in every practice, every game, every shootaround. He never stops," Hawks veteran point guard Anthony Johnson said and then relayed a story about a fantastic West sequence during an exhibition game in Charlotte. "Mario got a tip dunk and sprinted back to half court and was denying his man the ball, and Charlotte hadn't even thrown the ball in bounds yet. It was ... a sight to see. Unbelievable."

---

Quote:

---

Fellow Hawks rookie Al Horford played with Joakim Noah and Corey Brewer, two players revered for their non-stop motors on back-to-back NCAA title teams at Florida. Neither, Horford said, has the extra gear West does.

"Rio is on another level," Horford said. "Consistently, play in and play out, he plays harder than anyone I've ever played with or against. Joakim plays extremely hard, you know, that's what he was known for. But this dude [West] ... he's on another level, man. I'm just glad he's on our team. We need somebody like that."

---

---

These are some endorsements. I have to re-consider my active 12 player's list.

[LongTimeHawksFan]

mario west is to atlanta what ronny turiaf is to the lakers