Donta Smith is Hawks Draft Wild Card

[jaywalker72]

http://hawks.realgm.com/showarticle.php?artid=455

Hawks Front Office spoke with each of the draftees during Monday's media event at Philips Arena. We will bring you each of the draftees, one at a time, along with some comments from Hawks GM Billy Knight.

Today: Donta Smith

Looking at the four new drafts picks, there are some obvious differences in personalities between them all.

Josh Childress is the frontman; smiling, confident…the thinking man’s draft pick. Josh Smith is the man-child, seemingly mild-mannered, unaware of the fury that he could potentially bring to the league. Royal Ivey is the schooled professional, the floor burn hustler that brings toughness to the group.

And then there is Donta Smith.

Smith, on first impressions, seems to be the wild child of the group, drafted not from high school or a four year university, but from the depths of Southeastern Illinois CC, where he scored nearly 26 point per game, along with over 7 rebounds and 3 and a half assists per contest. And for those who wonder about the talent level in JuCo, Rick Pitino thought enough of him to sign him to Louisville next season.

He seems full of energy, and sports the long wingspan that, fittingly, has become the trademark of the Hawks under Billy Knight. His JuCo coach says that Smith can easily play the 1, 2, or 3 (though likely not at the same time)…and Knight agrees.

“We’re hopeful at some point he can play on the point some with his ball handling and things like that. He certainly has a lot of ability.”

JuCo is one thing, but is Donta ready to bring that ability to the NBA?

“I’m up for it. I got no problem running the point,” says Smith. “I ran it most of the time in JuCo because I was taller than a lot of the other guards running the point; sometimes the taller man is better than the shorter guy. But I can sure do it, if coach wants me to do it, I’m not going to give him any stuff about it, I’ll just go out there and do it.”

Despite the fact that the Hawks worked out nearly 60 players before this draft, Donta Smith was not one of them, bowing due to overscheduling before the Hawks workout day came due.

“I didn’t get to work out for the team, I cancelled because I had previous workouts that had wore me out,” explains a penitent Smith, “The one that was before this one was a lot of full court stuff, so I wouldn’t have had any legs coming in here, and I didn’t want to fall on my face.”

That, combined with his collegiate obscurity, might have scared off the Hawks. But Smith was considered first round worthy by many draft observers, and worked out for many teams near the bottom of the first round. That he was available when the Hawks rolled around at #34 surprised more than a few watchers, including Smith.

“There were a lot of teams that said they would pick me if I fell to them, but I am not going to let that bother me,” relates Smith about his draft night experience.

Despite not working him out, Knight was ready.

“He was another guy that was sort of under the radar I think a little bit,” recalls Knight. “A lot of other teams hadn’t seen him or didn’t know a lot about him, but our staff was on top of him, really liked him, and made me more aware of him as we went through the process. And even though we had drafted wing players at earlier positions, we just think his skill set and his abilities are somewhat unique.”

“When the Hawks called my name, folks thought I wasn’t happy, but I just showed my emotions differently,” says Smith. “That night I didn’t go to bed until 4 o’clock, I was thinking about stuff, celebrating on my own time. It was a happy time for myself and my family.”

Finishes Smith, “Having that they picked me without working me out, puts the monkey on my back to prove their faith in my game.”

To do that, Smith must join a team with a reputation that is far from envious. Going from a potentially prominent program like the University of Louisville to the Atlanta Hawks might cause some to take pause and possibly regret their decision.

But Smith feels like he, and his fellow draftees, can make a difference.

“We got a lot of long, athletic guys that can play ball,” states Smith. “They’re willing to put everything out on the line, and I think that will help folks see the Hawks as a different team.”

[Derek]

Great read.

[Diesel]

Does Smith have sticking power and we might see him as BU SG/PG?

Being that today is the start of things, It will be interesting to see how many free agents we talk to...

Foyle/Pryz

Swift/Anderson/Collier

[Gray Mule]

Ain't it great to have all this inside stuff!!

Thanks. As usual, great read.

As Diesel says, now we begin the free agent process.

More off season excitement.

And, it will continue to build as we get a new head coach,

find out who his staff is, and continue the rebuilding

process of the Hawks.

Again, thanks Jaywalker72.

[Admin]

Does anyone else get that impression from reading his quotes? He does seem like he has a good head on shoulders and should be a great team player.........so hopefully he sticks.

Great read as usual Jay.........thanks

[TnDawg]

Guys I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for creating such a great site. After spending the last 20 or so years in the military and moving around, I've come across this site a few times. Finding an insightful site to stay abreast of our teams comings and going was much appreciated. Once again, a great job, and I can't wait to get a better feel for the team once we pick a coach, and aquire a few FAs.

[Sage11]

yea I got that impression; grounded, motivated, and hungry.

I like what this article says about him.

[sturt]

I understand what Jay's saying here, but anyone picked by the Hawks in this draft, and especially in the 2nd round, has to be tickled to death that they landed with a team where they're going to get a real-honest-to-goodness shot at making an NBA roster... where it's their roster slot to lose.

Quote:

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To do that, Smith must join a team with a reputation that is far from envious. Going from a potentially prominent program like the University of Louisville to the Atlanta Hawks might cause some to take pause and possibly regret their decision.

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