Woodson will return as coach By SEKOU SMITH The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Published on: 04/20/06 Hawks general manager Billy Knight said Thursday that Mike Woodson will return for a third season coaching the team he took over in July 2004. "Woody's status is fine," Knight said when asked by the Journal-Constitution what Woodson's status was as the Hawks head into the summer after a 26-56 season. "He's going to be coaching the team again. I think he's done a good job with the team. You can see improvement all the way through, both with the team and with individual players. "I evaluate coaches by just a few things. Does that guy's team play hard? Yeah, I think they play hard. Did they improve throughout the year? I think we improved throughout the year. Are they organized and structured out there? Yes, I think they are. So those are the three basic things I use to evaluate a young coach in this league to begin with, and certainly a coach that is here with us who has a team in a rebuilding situation, which is where we are." Woodson survived a tumultuous 2-16 start, that was preceded by the Oct. 15 death of Hawks backup center Jason Collier, by guiding the Hawks to 13 more wins than they had a year ago. After conducting exit interviews with his players Thursday, Woodson said the subject of his job security was never raised. The collective focus of the franchise, he said, needs to be on the players taking the "next step." "I think we withstood a lot of adversity at the beginning of the year, that's all I will say," said Woodson, who has compiled a 39-125 record during his Hawks tenure. "And as a coach I'll never concern myself about my job status. I'll never do that. I have too much pride in what I do as a coach. And I think whatever happens is going to happen. "A lot of things you can't control in this league. But the thing that I can control is how I approach my job each and every day I come to work. And I'll never give an owner or a GM any out to say I'm not doing my job. Because I try to work my [tail] off and my staff works the same way to make sure that we prepare to play basketball. "Sometimes, things don't work out the way you plan. That's what happened at the beginning of the year. We just couldn't win during that stretch ... but I don't wake up and go to bed every night worrying about my job or being fired." Knight said Woodson's unwavering approach and refusal to lean on any of the aforementioned factors as the cause for the team's lack of on-court success, bolstered his standing. "Was he willing to adjust as the year went on? Yes he did do those things, he adjusted and adapted to what we had," Knight continued. "Did he use any excuses when there were injuries and we didn't have enough big men out there for him? He didn't make any excuses for anything all year. I'm happy with him, and with a young coach and his development, too. He's growing every day. He's a better coach today than when we hired him two years ago. He's going to be a better coach tomorrow than he is today. "Does he do everything right? No, he doesn't do everything right. Has he made mistakes? Yeah, he's made mistakes. But let he who has not erred cast the first stone." (Knight would not elaborate on Woodson's mistakes.) A similar sentiment was echoed by Woodson's players as they exited the locker room on their way to summer break. "I love Wood as coach, I think we all do," said Hawks co-captain Joe Johnson. "We just have such a young team. And its tough, it's a tough situation for him because as a coach in this league if your team is not doing well it ultimately reflects on you." 资料来源 http://www.ajc.com/hawks/content/sports/hawks/stories/0421hawks.html --

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