Bradley Article from AJC on Dermarr.....

[Admin]

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Hawk grows into expectations

Mark Bradley - Staff

Sunday, July 14, 2002

There was a time when everybody associated with basketball knew his name. Today, DerMarr Johnson admits, some folks have forgotten he's still playing. DerMarr Johnson is 22 years old.

"I was looking through old newspapers," he says, "when I was ranked the No. 1 high school player in the country." Those clippings haven't yet yellowed. DerMarr Johnson was the No. 1 high school player in 1999.

If Johnson sometimes seems like yesterday's news, that's more the nature of the NBA than a personal failing. He put in one year at Cincinnati, was drafted seven weeks after his 20th birthday, and has spent the past two seasons as an awkward apprentice. Dan Dickau may be the fresh face among the Atlanta Hawks, but their first-round pick of 2002 is 19 months older than their first-round pick of 2000.

"Most of the rookies are older than I am," Johnson says. "But I've been playing longer."

That depends on your definition of "playing." Johnson was a millionaire at 20, the sixth player drafted two summers ago. He scarcely budged as a rookie, a reality check for which no touted player is ever prepared. "I expected to play more," he says. "I thought I'd make an immediate impact."

He made almost no impact, which isn't the way it was supposed to work for Johnson, who has carried a tattoo that reads "King Of The Court --- NBA" since he was 19. He'd wanted to be taken by the Hawks because he saw a dearth of wingmen. Instead he found himself an end-of-the-bencher on a lousy club. "I was upset," he says. "I wondered if I'd be better off on another team."

It was only toward the end of last season that the Hawks' audience, such as it is, was reminded: (a.) That DerMarr Johnson was still on the roster, and (b.) that there was a reason he was considered the finest of his class. He played more, scored more, looked less lost. He still shot poorly, but he no longer seemed a skinny, overmatched kid. He seemed a legitimate prospect. He seemed only slightly less advanced than the now-resplendent Tracy McGrady was as a second-year pro.

Next season will be Year 3 for Johnson, Year 3 being the last for which a rookie's contract is guaranteed. (The Hawks have the option to extend the deal for a fourth season, which they almost surely will, but you never know.) "It's a big year for me," Johnson says. "I expect to be playing a lot of minutes. And we're guaranteeing the playoffs."

He sits by the practice court at Philips Arena. He and the other young Hawks, Dickau included, have been preparing for the summer league in Boston. Dickau looked OK in this session, Johnson less OK. At this he was conspicuously disappointed. He took 50 extra shots after the workout and spent long minutes with assistant coach Eric Musselman. Within the organization, this is considered progress.

"Three weeks ago, DerMarr turned it up a lot in terms of self-motivation and having better workouts," says Lon Kruger, the Hawks' coach. "Last summer he did things when we asked him to do it. Now he's doing it on his own."

Says Johnson: "The coach [Kruger] told me he was proud of me this summer, the steps I've made. But I can't let up." And also this: "I wish the coaches' confidence in me would be like mine."

Through two seasons of sitting, Johnson insists he hasn't lost faith. He can still be, he believes, an impact player. He isn't content to bank $2 million this year and fade into ridiculously early retirement. "The money I'm making now is nothing," he says, laughing. What would be a good year? "Us making the playoffs while I'm on the floor."

If he ever lacks for impetus, he has only to look down. Johnson doesn't want that tattoo to be an empty promise. "It's not going anywhere," he says of the ornate inscription, and he smiles. He likewise plans to stick around.

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[Hawksfreak]

read my edited version of the artical!

[Blunt91]

I hope DJ finds his game and keeps his postive attitude because we sure need his talent.

[Hawksfreak]

Blunt91 now he is a resonable fixure for his height 6-9 216! This is going to also make him a hard guy for smaller SG's to guard becuase they arn't good at guarding in the low post.

[ATLien_]

I wonder if DJ has been working on his low post game? I always here about him needing to work on dribbling and I here about him shooting extra shots.

I certainly hope he learns to post players because at 6-9 he has an advantage over almost every shooting guard. I would love to see him adopt that fade away like Jordan had.

[Blunt91]

It will take some time for him to develop a post up game since he hasn't been playing that way at all. I don't about Dermarr doing a fadeaway jumper, he appears so stiff in the knees. At times his movements do not appear fluid, the same goes for his dribbling. I am just hoping next year he gets better at slashing to the basket. That would help his game tremendously.