Hawks: Rivalry? What rivalry? 'Everything is good now' between Shelden, Marvin Williams By ANDRE' L. SHANNON The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Published on: 07/10/06 The heated rivalry will have to take a back seat for now. No more Tar Heel blue. No more Cameron Crazies. From now on it's just Atlanta Hawks' red, black and gold. For Marvin Williams from North Carolina and Shelden Williams from rival Duke — Hawks' No. 1 picks in 2005 and 2006, respectively — the tussles on Tobacco Road will now have to transform into a partnership at Philips. Neither player seems to mind. The first opportunity to test out the chemistry came Monday, the team's first day of mini-camp heading to summer league play. "We have a great respect for one another," Shelden Williams said. "We played against each other in college but now we have an opportunity to play together and I think it will be a great thing." "Everything is good now, until Carolina and Duke plays," Marvin Williams added. The second-year player, who only played at the University of North Carolina for one year, praised his new teammate. "Shelden is going to be a great player in the league," Marvin said. "He can definitely help us this year." Shelden Williams, a Duke standout for four years, was drafted No. 5 overall by the Hawks to help out on the defensive end and rebound. "You can't take anything away from Shelden's scoring; he averaged 19 points a game in college," coach Mike Woodson said. "But the big reason we drafted him was because he was a shot blocker, could rebound the basketball and defend low post players." On Monday the Williamses, and 2006 second round pick Solomon Jones joined 15 other players for a two-hour workout on the team's practice court. Throughout the practice Woodson stressed the importance of getting better on the defensive side. "Take pride in rebounding and protecting the paint," he said to the team in the last hour of practice. "Learn to take charges and become a better shot blocking team and that's how you get better." Second-year players Salim Stoudamire and Esteban Batista, and John Edwards and Anthony Grundy are the other Hawks' veterans participating in the camp. The summer league squad which also includes long-shot camp invitees will compete in the Rocky Mountain Revue in Salt Lake City next week. Woodson is using this week's camp to evaluate players work ethic. "You can't play this game if you're not committed," he said. "I'm evaluating that and I'm looking for guys who want to play hard and compete. I know my guys will play hard. Now I have to figure out if these other guys who are here fighting for camp spots are willing to make the sacrifice." According to Woodson the first day of practice went as expected and he likes what he sees from his two draft picks. "We started a bit ragged but I was very pleased with Shelden and Solomon," he said. "I think they pick up things quickly. I'm not so much worried about our other (roster) guys because they know what we're doing. The two young guys in particular didn't stand out but I see good things from those guys." Shelden Williams felt comfortable in his first practice as a Hawk, but said he still has a lot to learn. "I had a few mistakes trying to learn the new system," he said. "Overall I felt okay and I tried to do the things I know I'm capable of doing." Before camp Shelden Williams was signed to a contract based on the NBA rookie scale. Details of the deal were not disclosed by the team. Jones, the team's second round draft pick is expected to be signed later on in the week. 资料来源 http://www.ajc.com/hawks/content/sports/hawks/stories/0711hawks.html --

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