Name That Hawks Draft Pick... Part III

[lethalweapon3]

It's about that time again. I'll put up the unanswered ones from the prior two episodes (2011, 2012), then I've got a few new ones.

(Quiz #1)

(Quiz #1… guy on the right)

Hints: The Pride of Gray, Georgia. He was a U.S. Olympic Team member but didn’t get to play due to, well, circumstances beyond his control. Holds NCAA record for most points scored in a semifinal, playing on the same floor with the next two #1 overall NBA picks. Played just 19 games for the Hawks (4.8 PPG) before getting traded, he would go on to average as much as 15 PPG for other teams. Taken 4^th overall, just ahead of the late Orlando Woolridge, and a couple picks before Tom Chambers and Rolando Blackman (both, future teammates of his). Currently resides in Fort Mill, South Carolina as a retired high school principal and a pastor at a church situated on some fairly infamous property.

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

(Quiz #2)

Hints: Another of many players who eschewed the Hawks for the bright lights and colored balls of the ABA. Was nicknamed "The Hound" for his defensive aggressiveness. Sports Illustrated once noted he “could complete a pass through a maze. Eyes closed, of course.” Holds the ABA single-game record for steals. Among players taken among the next ten draft picks: Spencer Haywood and Mike Newlin.

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

(Quiz #3)

Hints: Similar to James Brown (of Fox Sports/CBS Sports fame, drafted by the Hawks in 1973), was devastated about getting cut as a rookie during the preseason by the Hawks, but eventually parlayed his disappointment into a steady media career. Currently a college hoops commentator, motivational speaker, and author of a self-help book for teens. Never got with the Atlanta Hawks but did play for the Atlanta Eagles of the USBL. Played overseas on three continents and the CBA, finishing his career as a champion with the Toshiba Brave Thunders. Among the players taken after him was a college teammate (taken with the very next pick) who would appear in eight times as many NBA games, along with Tony Massenburg, Derek Strong, Tony Smith, Cedric Ceballos, and Antonio Davis. Boasts that his college team, and not the “Fab Five,” introduced to the world the baggy shorts that would quickly become the norm for hoop fashion.

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

(Quiz #4... big guy in the middle)

Hints: Drafted in the 1990s, about 5 picks before Byron Russell. Currently an assistant coach for a high school team, featuring his son, in Sacramento that made the state finals in 2012. Played his own high school years in a town called Antelope. Played pro ball for the Thunder… and the Lightning.

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

(Quiz #5)

Hints: Drafted in the 1990s, appearing in just 4 NBA games with two other teams after getting waived by Atlanta. Taken ahead of Michael Smith, Pig Miller, and Voshon Leonard. Known around Wichita as ‘Skip’. Was once Oklahoma City’s leading scorer for a season. Had a son studying at Clark Atlanta.

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

Now for some new quizzes...

(Quiz #6)

Hints: The first player from an international league ever drafted into the NBA. This “flying” player never did get a chance to play in the NBA, but he did go overseas to eventually win 3 Euroleague titles. Still considered the greatest player in his nation’s history, he played for his country in 3 Olympic Games.

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

(Quiz #7)

Hints: Engaged in rap battles and wrestled teammates up to nine inches taller than him after practice. Guided his team to its first Final Four in 30 years before the Hawks drafted him with the next-to-last pick in the draft. Never played in the NBA, but his globetrotting took him to six European countries before retiring. Currently an analyst for a college sports TV network.

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

(Quiz #8)

Hints: A basketball camp foundation co-founder and new author of a self-help/life-lessons book. Former conference defensive player of the year before getting drafted by the Hawks ahead of Steve Blake, Zaza Pachulia, Willie Green, Matt Bonner, and Kyle Korver. Started in four games in one season with the Hawks and scored 27 points in his final two NBA games before moving on to Euro-ball in Spain and Russia. Won a championship in Moscow before retiring, and remodeled a baby hospital while in Russia. Best buds with, and occasional spiritual counselor to, a current Phoenix Sun.

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

(Quiz #9)

Hint: This Thrilla was recently in Manila.

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

(Quiz #10)

Hints: Dr. J was his cousin. Starred in his school’s last two NCAA Elite Eight teams. Was traded by the Hawks in his second season to one of the worst teams of all time. No relation to the company that shares his surname, although I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if he could get a cut of the profits.

~lw3

[PSSSHHHRRR87]

Quiz 1 is Al Wood. Know that because I've met the man.

[lethalweapon3]

Quiz 1 is Al Wood. Know that because I've met the man.

ding ding ding!

UNC Tar Heel legend Al Wood stood out in the http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1vX9z3remU, scoring a whopping NCAA record 39 points alongside James Worthy against Ralph Sampson and UVa. He was one of the members of the ill-fated 1980 USA men's basketball team that never did get to go to Moscow. Like another future Tar Heel, this swingman was potentially too good for the Hawks to pass up, grabbing him at 4th overall in the 1981 draft.

But they apparently didn't have the patience to develop Wood (4.8 PPG, 34.3 FG%) into a top-notch scorer. They traded him and Charlie Criss for a sure thing, San Diego Clippers super-scorer Freeman Williams -- who promptly obliged the Hawks by falling off the dadgum Earth (4.8 PPG off the bench for Atlanta, 16.5 PPG before the trade with the Clips; 19.3 PPG the year before that). Not to be the final bust surnamed Williams ever to play for the Hawks, Freeman wouldn't be completely useless, though. He eventually became fodder in the draft-day trade with the Jazz to acquire Dominique Wilkins. Even the Hawks' best-ever trade might not have happened without one of their worst ones preceding it.

Wood, meanwhile, immediately paid dividends by scoring in double-digits for the Clippers (12.5 PPG, 51.8 FG%), and peaked as the third-leading scorer for an underwhelming 1984-85 Supersonics team coached by Lenny Wilkens, before finishing his career as a reserve with the Mavericks' first division champs in 1987.

Wood currently serves as the Men's Pastor for MorningStar Ministries in Fort Mill, South Carolina, and directs philanthropy for the Comenius School for Creative Leadership, a Christian K-12 school where he previously served as principal before retiring in 2010. MorningStar Ministries is located on the sprawling property that was the former home of "Heritage USA," the Christian theme park that Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker of "PTL Club" fame built during their own rollercoaster years of the 1970s and 1980s.

~lw3

Edited June 9, 2013 by lethalweapon3

[dirtypuppet]

#8 Would be Travis Hansen I believe.

[Diesel]

It's about that time again. I'll put up the unanswered ones from the prior two episodes (2011, 2012), then I've got a few new ones.

(Quiz #1)

(Quiz #1… guy on the right)

Hints: The Pride of Gray, Georgia. He was a U.S. Olympic Team member but didn’t get to play due to, well, circumstances beyond his control. Holds NCAA record for most points scored in a semifinal, playing on the same floor with the next two #1 overall NBA picks. Played just 19 games for the Hawks (4.8 PPG) before getting traded, he would go on to average as much as 15 PPG for other teams. Taken 4^th overall, just ahead of the late Orlando Woolridge, and a couple picks before Tom Chambers and Rolando Blackman (both, future teammates of his). Currently resides in Fort Mill, South Carolina as a retired high school principal and a pastor at a church situated on some fairly infamous property.

~lw3

The only name that comes to mind is Vern Fleming? But that's not Vern? Vern was drafted by the Pacers... I think. We got Nique.

[Diesel]

(Quiz #8)

Hints: A basketball camp foundation co-founder and new author of a self-help/life-lessons book. Former conference defensive player of the year before getting drafted by the Hawks ahead of Steve Blake, Zaza Pachulia, Willie Green, Matt Bonner, and Kyle Korver. Started in four games in one season with the Hawks and scored 27 points in his final two NBA games before moving on to Euro-ball in Spain and Russia. Won a championship in Moscow before retiring, and remodeled a baby hospital while in Russia. Best buds with, and occasional spiritual counselor to, a current Phoenix Sun.

~lw3

That's my main man ... Eminen.. I mean Travis Hansen.

[Diesel]

(Quiz #7)

Hints: Engaged in rap battles and wrestled teammates up to nine inches taller than him after practice. Guided his team to its first Final Four in 30 years before the Hawks drafted him with the next-to-last pick in the draft. Never played in the NBA, but his globetrotting took him to six European countries before retiring. Currently an analyst for a college sports TV network.

~lw3

I wanted him and Cookie Belcher and we drafted him and he never played... Scoonie Penn.

[lethalweapon3]

#8 Would be Travis Hansen I believe.

ding ding ding! The next few years didn't change the Hawks' fortunes after drafting the BYU Cougar ahead of quite a few second-round notables in the 2003 NBA Draft.

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700182136/Former-BYU-basketball-star-Travis-Hansen-is-a-regular-guy-whose-life-has-made-a-big-difference-to.html?pg=all

Hansen and his wife LaRee left Provo for Atlanta and LaRee was in tears — she'd never been away from home and family. In the NBA, nightly games place players in different major cities every day, and limos pull up to airports and transport players to nightclubs for partying, drinking and a lifestyle which was foreign to Travis.

Hansen made a decision not to partake — it wasn't him. What followed was the typical story of Mormon kid who is teased, tempted, joked about and poked fun at but in the end earns respect for standing up for his beliefs.

"Yes, it was like that. Very typical," said Hansen.

"It was hard because you wanted to be part of the team and felt like you needed to belong. But you just didn't go. I made great relationships with Jason Terry, Steven Jackson and Shareef Abdur-Rahim.

"They respected me and I believe I came way closer to them than if I'd gone to the nightclubs because I'd have just become another guy at the club to hang out with," he said. "By not going, I totally stood out and built more powerful relationships with them."

Struggling with a stress fracture in his foot, Hansen played sparingly throughout the 2003-04 season (3.0 PPG, 35.4 FG%), but dropped 14 points in a garbage-time April game the against reigning Eastern Conference champion Nets. In the next game, the season closer, his 10 points in the second quarter put a scare into the Celtics' playoff hopes, but it wasn't quite enough as Boston won by five and finished a game ahead of rookie LeBron James' Cavs for the final 8-seed.

By the next season, Hansen wound up in Spain with TAU Ceramica, reaching the Euroleague Final Four and ACB Finals in back-to-back years. He moved on to Dynamo Moscow, and after scoring 17.5 PPG, newly swinging-single Vladimir Putin granted him Russian citizenship, so he could play for Russia in the Beijing 2008 Olympics (never did play, though).

After a spell with Real Madrid, he went out on top with BC Khimki, sinking five free throws in the closing seconds to clinch the northeast European league championship.

While in Spain...

Hansen found private moments when teammate Luis Scola, an atheist who believes in evolution, came to him to talk about God.

During the Final Four of the European championships in Prague, Scola's father traveled with the team. He had a heart attack during the tournament and was hospitalized the entire time.

"Luis came up to me many times and asked about God, what happens after this life. That was his main question," Hansen said. "He was so nervous about his dad. One night Luis came up to me and started talking pretty in-depth about the plan of salvation. To this day, we remain friends, as are our wives.

"I have a hope that one day I'll go by his house and he'll be 60 and looking at all his trophies and call me to go to church."

And while in Russia...

After two unsuccessful fertility treatments and a miscarriage, LaRee researched adoption in Russia. What she found were horrible statistics about Russian orphans.

"We both felt inspired to do something," said Hansen.

Through Russian friends, they found a baby hospital in Lyubertsy, Russia, and began work to remodel the facility and provide life-saving operations for children by creating a group of volunteers to hold, feed and play with babies and children. That led to a partnership with founding sponsor Natures Sunshine of the Little Heroes Foundation.

TravisHansen.com takes you to the Little Heroes Foundation and his basketball camp. According to Deseret News, for whom he also pens occasional "Talkin with Trav" articles, through September 2011...

...that organization has given 48,000 people hope, including 32 life-saving surgeries, created 1,200 educational opportunities including two schools in Mali, and administered 32,000 health treatments for kids the past three years. There are now plans to establish a holistic center in Nepal and, (in September 2011), Hansen spoke at a breakfast for the Utah chapter of Operation Smile, helping to raise $125,000 for the international children's medical charity.

His current self-help book, "The Next Few Years Will Change Your Life," is available from Deseret Books.

~lw3

Edited June 9, 2013 by lethalweapon3

[Diesel]

Now for some new quizzes...

(Quiz #6)

Hints: The first player from an international league ever drafted into the NBA. This “flying” player never did get a chance to play in the NBA, but he did go overseas to eventually win 3 Euroleague titles. Still considered the greatest player in his nation’s history, he played for his country in 3 Olympic Games.

~lw3

I always thought that we broke the mold with Not-my-Vidas, Not-Your-Vidas, But-Arvydas... Wasn't he the first International player ever drafted?

[lethalweapon3]

I always thought that we broke the mold with Not-my-Vidas, Not-Your-Vidas, But-Arvydas... Wasn't he the first International player ever drafted?

Nope, sorry, mi amigo! Ya gotta go back at least a decade earlier to get that answer.

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

I wanted him and Cookie Belcher and we drafted him and he never played... Scoonie Penn.

Scoonie Penn's free throws and a crucial steal in the closing seconds

for the Ohio State Buckeyes, their first trip since 1968, against Ron Artest's Red Storm of St. John's.

Unable to make the Hawks' roster, Penn set sail for Europe and aside from a D-League stop with the Asheville Altitude, he pretty much made his living there. Red Star Belgrade, Cibona Zagreb (twice), Efes Pilsen, Virtus Roma, Virtus Bologna... and much, much more, as far as teams you can't pronounce. In 2010, he was picked up by

squad for a second run after cutting Von Wafer, who struggled to adjust to Euroball from the NBA.

Scoonie now serves up his advice for

as a commentator and analyst.

http://btn.com/2013/01/10/big-ten-tales-ohio-states-scoonie-penn/

BTN.com: Do you have any good stories with Michael (Redd) or any of your other former teammates? Penn: I’ve played on a lot of basketball teams in my lifetime, but that Ohio State team was special because we were all so tight. We would talk a lot of trash to each other, but it was all fun and games.

BTN.com: About what? Penn: A lot of stuff, mostly music. Half of our team were East Coast guys that came over when Coach O’Brien left from Boston College. The other half were Midwest guys, who grew up in or around Ohio. Well, because we were from different parts of the country, we liked different kinds of music. All the Midwest guys all wanted to listen to Tupac, while us East Coast guys, we wanted Biggie, Jay Z or Nas. It was kind of like a locker room divided when it came to music.

BTN.com: How did you settle it? Penn: We would turn on the music and we would have rap battles. We all grew up in that rap generation so this was a big deal for us. To be honest, we were all horrible. But you couldn’t tell us that at the time. We thought we were all pretty good.

BTN.com: What else? Penn: Well, a lot of times after practice, once we had the music going, we would literally sit in the locker room and have wrestling matches. Guys would talk trash about this and that, and we would see how tough you were. I’m sitting here at about 5-foot-10 and I would wrestle guys that were literally a full foot taller than me.

BTN.com: Any epic matches that come to mind? Penn: I remember one time I had to go up against a teammate of mine, George Reece. He was about 6-foot-7, 220 pounds, built like a defensive end. The entire team got real into it and went wild when I beat him. Most of the time, the little guys won because we had leverage.

BTN.com: Did Coach O’Brien have any idea this was going on at the time? Penn: He was probably aware of it, but he didn’t mind. We were a real close group and we have memories like that, which stick with us today. When we get together now days, we always reminisce about those matches. It wasn’t on the court, but it was one of those things that made us close.

~lw3

Edited June 9, 2013 by lethalweapon3