Peachtree Hoops: Reddish, Hunter draw high marks in 2019-20 NBA rookie survey

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Each August, John Schuhmann of NBA.com catches up with members of the incoming rookie class and puts together a survey from the results. The 2019-20 version dropped on Monday and, as you may expect, members of the Atlanta Hawks’ NBA Draft class were featured.

No. 10 overall pick Cam Reddish garnered the most attention, including one exceedingly notable honor. For background, 42 members of the rookie class spoke to NBA.com in answering seven questions about members of their incoming draft class, and Reddish landed in a tie for third place when his classmates were prompted about the 2019-20 Rookie of the Year.

Reddish garnered just five percent of the vote, knotted with college teammate R.J. Barrett, and that placed him behind Zion Williamson and Ja Morant in the pecking order. With that said, De’Andre Hunter did not receive any votes in the Rookie of the Year category, which is somewhat surprising given the draft-day placement of the two players.

From there, Reddish actually came in at No. 1 overall when the 2019 draft class was asked the question of “which rookie will have the best career?” and he grabbed 19 percent of the vote. Hunter also garnered recognition in the same category, coming in third at 11 percent, and it was a bit of a shock to see both ahead of Williamson.

Hunter enters the league with a high-end reputation as a defensive player and that was backed up by the opinion of his fellow draftees. The former Virginia standout came in second in voting for “best defender,” trailing only Matisse Thybulle, and second-round pick Bruno Fernando received at least one vote in the same category.

Wrapping things up, Reddish received at least one vote for “steal” of the draft and, overall, the Hawks were well represented. In the grand scheme, this is only one poll of players who haven’t played in an NBA game yet but, on the whole, Atlanta’s first-year trio was recognized in a positive light and that’s not a bad thing.

Stay tuned.

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