Hawks pick Duke's Williams By SEKOU SMITH The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Published on: 06/29/06 New York — Shelden Williams is well aware that he has detractors out there, people who feel that because they watched him for four years at Duke that they've seen all that he has to offer on a basketball court. But the newest Atlanta Hawk is steadfast in his belief that few people have seen what else he has to offer, following a similar path from Tobacco Road to the NBA blazed recently by the likes of Elton Brand and Carlos Boozer. "There's no question that I played around the basket pretty exclusively in college because that's what was needed for us to be successful," Williams said Wednesday night after the Hawks made him the fifth pick in the NBA draft. "There are some things that I can do that people haven't seen. I can step away from the basket and knock down shots. But those are things people just haven't seen from me because that's not what was needed of me for us to be successful." The Hawks are looking for the 6-9, 258-pound Williams to do exactly what he did at Duke: rebound, play defense and bang relentlessly inside. As glaring as the Hawks' deficiencies at point guard were last season, their struggles inside arguably were more obvious. Backup center Jason Collier died during training camp and left third-year player Zaza Pachulia as the only capable post player on the roster for the entire season. "We finished next to last in defensive rebounding, we finished next to last in point scored against in the paint and we had gave up more 3-point plays than other team in the league," Hawks general manager Billy Knight said. "Along with Josh Smith, we think Shelden Williams will help us protect the goal. We can't spend another season with Zaza playing 35 to 40 minutes a night in 82 games without any help. We feel like Shelden can help us out in some areas where we obviously need help." Like Williams, Knight and Hawks coach Mike Woodson disputed the notion that the newest member of the franchise is a finished product. "There is upside to his game," Knight said. "Everyone is penalizing four-year players in today's NBA. And that's not fair. Shelden is certainly physically mature, but ... there's more to his game. And if you look at the first 12 picks of the draft, all these guys from Andrea Bargnani and LaMarcus Aldridge and Adam Morrison and down to J.J. Redick and Hilton Armstrong, we're not the only team looking to bring somebody in that can help your team more immediately as opposed to bringing in a young guy and gambling on his potential." Williams is one of just three players in NCAA history to record at least 1,500 points, 1,000 rebounds, 350 blocks and 150 steals, joining David Robinson and Pervis Ellison. It was that body of work, and not any workout (Williams didn't work out for the Hawks) or any guarantee from Knight (both sides insist that was untrue) that made Williams the Hawks' pick. "I don't care how you cut it," Woodson said, "the kid scored nearly 19 points a game and rebounded the ball like nobody's business and averaged about four blocks a night. The fact is he gives us a lot of stuff we didn't have last year. Is he a little undersized? He might be. But it's the heart that gets you through. \ Some people could argue that Zaza is a bit undersized and did the job for us. And I think Shelden can come in and give us some of the same things and more." Some fans among an estimated 1,000 at the Hawks' draft party in Philips Arena were not convinced, booing the pick and lamenting the Hawks passing on a point guard for the second straight season. Last year the team chose Marvin Williams with the No. 2 pick and passed on point guards Deron Williams and Chris Paul, who ran away with Rookie of the Year honors. "This is not a good pick. We don't need another forward," said Erick Harrell, who attended the draft party. "We are already crowded at that position. I think [general manager] Billy Knight is trying to sabotage the team." The Hawks took another power forward in the second round, selecting Solomon Jones from South Florida with the 33rd overall 4pick. Woodson admitted later that there's "no question we need a point guard." Veterans like Sam Cassell, Speedy Claxton, Mike James and Bobby Jackson will be the hottest names on the free-agent market. "Those are guys that can help put our ball club over the top. So hang in there with us, please," Woodson said as he walked away from the microphone to the only applause of the night. Staff writer Andre Shannon and Jeff D'Alessio contributed to this report. 资料来源 http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/hawks/stories/0629hawks.html --

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