Ivey Hopes to Surprise

[jaywalker72]

http://hawks.realgm.com/showarticle.php?artid=454

Royal Ivey has surprised everyone already, but not the way that he hopes to.

The Hawks caught the draft watchers by surprise when they tabbed the University of Texas senior with the 37th pick in the draft. He hadn’t appeared on any mock drafts, leading some to believe that the Hawks were nuts, and that they could have had the guard as an undrafted free agent.

Ivey tells a different story:

“My agent told me that the Hawks had the 37th pick, and the Bulls had 38. I had worked out against Chris Duhon (in Chicago) and that had gone really well. The Hawks were going to take me at 42, my agent told them that wouldn’t be a good choice. He didn’t tell them who was interested, but the Bulls were interested and were going to take me at 38. I’m glad the Hawks moved it up, because I am happy to be here, and this is a great opportunity for me. I’m ready to lace them up right now.”

How did a guy go from under the radar to pushing the Hawks to take him higher than they anticipated? Ivey fit the Hawks need for a pushy, athletic, long guard to play the point, and he proved it with a series of workouts, including a draft clinching faceoff with Ben Gordon, Shaun Livingston, Jameer Nelson, and Devin Harris.

“My agent told me I was going to work back to back, Chicago and Atlanta. I was originally supposed to work out with Ben Gordon earlier, but he backed out, so I was just going to go in there to show them what I can do. (In that workout) I kind of tweaked my ankle a little bit, so I couldn’t compete to the fullest with those guys, but I can compete with anybody, put me on the floor with the best, and I’m going to show you I’m here to stay.”

Ivey’s defensive presence sealed the deal with the Hawks, so why was everyone so surprised to hear his name called in the draft?

As Ivey explains, he gets more excited with every word, speaking with the passion of a preacher with no time limit.

“I wasn’t a great scorer in college, because I wasn’t called to do that. I did the other things, I was the leader, one of the best defensive players in the country. I just took pride in that and played my role. I wasn’t going to come out of that, and people didn’t really respect that. There are things to work on in my game, but I’ll work…I’m a workhorse. I pride myself in my work ethic. Coming out here and doing extra, become a better player. These are steps you take, it doesn’t just happen. I want to be better, I have room to improve and that’s what I want to do. Nobody respected me, I was under the radar, nobody respected the work I did in college, so I just have to go out there and prove people wrong.”

Ivey has been compared to Eric Snow and Kevin Ollie, even by the man himself. The Hawks sorely use a player like Snow in the backcourt, to establish a defensive presence on a team that allowed among the most points in basketball last season.

“I compare myself to those guys (Snow, Ollie) because those guys have great work ethic. They both compete, they’re mentally tough,” says Ivey. “Eric Snow, he’s a warrior. I love his game. I just love how he competes, he’s into the game, he’s relentless. He’s into the game, he brings all the intangibles, the things that coaches don’t really ask you to do, you just do them because you know you have the will to win, the will to work. And that’s what I pride myself on, just working and being better, building and building. Snow’s a great leader, and that’s what you need, you need to be a great leader to give you that edge.”

Hawks GM Billy Knight agrees:

“I think the Eric Snow comparisons are somewhat accurate and fair. He’s a big, strong, physical minded player. He needs to improve his outside shooting, and we’ve already talked about those things and he is aware of that. He’s a good kid, plays hard, an unselfish team player. He has the right mentality for what we want to do here. He has size for his position, he’s athletic, and we really like him a lot. We pleased that we got him with that pick.”

According to Ivey, his presence on the team might mean something off the court as well.

“There will be a lot of Hawks hats in Texas,” boasts Ivey. “I never thought I would see a lot of Milwaukee hats in Texas, then TJ Ford goes up there and you start seeing Milwaukee uniforms. Texas has diehard fans, the alumni love it. Somebody goes to a pro team, we are going to see people wearing hats, jersey, and watching the Hawks.”

[Blunt91]

Nice Article. I hope he can generate more Hawks fans we sure could use them.

[Plainview1981]

NMice article. Sounds like a steal in the draft. Can't

wait to see him play.

[Sage11]

Very good read....Can't wait to see him "lace them up."

[mdc5010]

I'm one of those fans. I've already told my son that if Ivey makes the team, he can expect an Ivey Hawks Jersey to be placed next to his Ford Bucks Jersey.

If you give him a chance, you guys will fall in love with Royal. He gets it. He competes and he's down to Earth. He's a great kid with excellent character. He won a good deal of games for UT this year. After the Nebraska game, he was interviewed on the floor after he hit the game winner and he was just happy that his dad had been able to attend the game and see it in person. Our coach Rick Barnes just kept gushing about Royal being a great person and his parents being great people. This guy is for real.

[jaywalker72]

That's great...I liked Royal after his first workout (you'll see I had nothing negative on him at all...he even shot the ball well in the first workout), and he continued to exude that energy and professionalism when we talked to him last Monday.

I can say there is a 90% chance he'll make this team...It would take a catastrophic failure for him not to.

After all, the Hawks were going to take someone else at 37 until Royal's agent said someone between 37 and 42 was going to take him, and the Hawks went up to 37 to do it, so that tells you how much they think of him that they sent another guy away instead of passing on Royal.

Post a picture of your son in his Hawks gear and I'll see if we can get him on the Hawks website or at the very least RealGM's Hawks Front Office.

[Sage11]

Wonderful!!!!! Character means a lot to me, I want to take my crew to Phillips to see someone who has it, who works hard, who is scrappy and represents himself and his team well. Your endorsement has me excited about drafting him. He could be one of the gems of the draft. thanks for the post.

[TheDude]

i couldn't get my Tim Pickett out of Florida State who exudes those same qualities but good to see I got someone just as good.

[KB21]

....are two players that can really get after it defensively on the perimeter. Those two guys will be excellent role players off the bench, as they will bring a lot of defensive energy to the game when they are in.