Hawks 360 Magazine Volume 1, Issue 1

FCA

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1

Josh Smith and his smoove ride

Atlanta High School Legends

The Big Boss and the BCS Championship

Flipping Out

03

05

13

14

09

How Sweet it is

Marvin’s Fab Five

Hawks Community

The Price is Right

Fashionista

Injury Prevention

Mo Evans Q & A

07

19

21

17

20

23

24

A-Town DancerProfi le: Vera

THE MAGAZINECreative Director: Peter SorckoffArt & Design: ”The Real” Matty RyanProduction Manager: Matt MusgroveSenior Editor: Arthur Triche

Editors: Jon Steinberg, Jason RoosePrinting: Tucker-Castleberry, Atlanta, GA

Contributors:

Jennifer Boxley, Jon Cooper, Chattin Hill, Keith Hansard, Micah Hart, Greg Millier, Kyle Payne, Bob Rathbun, Chef Bradley Rouse

Produced by: Atlanta Spirit, LLC101 Marietta St., NW, Ste. 1900Atlanta, GA 30303

© 2009 Atlanta Spirit, LLC. All rights reserved.

Volume 1 • Issue #1Winter 2009The Cover: Josh SmithPhotograph by Greg MillerHAWKS.COM

A COMPLETE LOOK INSIDE TH

LIFESTYLE OF THE ATLANTA HAWKS

THE

Email us your idea, feedback, thoughts and suggestions at [email protected]

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3

So how did you pick a 1968 Impala as the car that you wanted to restore?

I basically picked it because I wanted a drop top, kind of old school. When I fi rst got it, it was all rusted out. Now it’s a beauty.

Is this the fi rst time you have had a car rebuilt like this?

Yeah this is my fi rst old school one. I am kind of looking to get into stuff like that. You know when it is all fi nished it is a beautiful piece of work.

Did you know exactly how you wanted it to look?

Yeah, I defi nitely did. I knew what color I wanted and just basically went from there.

We know that some other guys are having some custom work done on their cars too, so far has yours turned out the way you wanted it?

My car, they did a great job on it and you have to see Zaza’s car too. What they did to Zaza’s car is unbelievable.

Well, we got a sneak peak at your Impala in the fi nal stages, and it defi nitely looks like it is going to be a smooth ride. But, I guess that kind of fi ts you, doesn’t it?

Yeah, it does.

Hawks Forward Josh Smith is a local favorite for his high-fl ying abilities and his Atlanta roots. He has been using another hometown favorite to help with a passion he has off the court. Josh is having a 1968 Impala restored and customized at a local performance shop in Atlanta. We caught up with J-Smoove to get his thoughts on the car and how he chose it.

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orgive Josh Smith if he doesn’t hold the Celtics completely in contempt.

The Boston Celtics? Sure, he still harbors plenty of resentment towards them. But the Celtics nickname in general, not so much.

After all, it was only 2003 that he proudly wore a Celtics jersey. Only then he was part of the Atlanta Celtics, and part of one of the most dominating front lines in AAU basketball history.

The memory of that team is still near and dear to him, and this year so is one of his Atlanta Celtics teammates, center Randolph Morris.

“It’s a good feeling just to be able to play with somebody I played with growing up in AAU basketball,” said Smith. “It’s a really exciting thing for me.”

“I played with him all through AAU,” recalled Morris. “He’s a good guy, a great player. It’s fun to be back on his team.”

Smith and Morris, two-thirds of the front-line referred to as “The Three Musketeers,” see the third musketeer, Gold Medal-winning and NBA All-Star center Dwight Howard, four times this season. While they’ll be foes for the 48 minutes of those games, they’ll quickly become friends again once the game is over and reminisce about some great memories.

Led by “The Three Musketeers,” as well as current Memphis Grizzlies point guard Javaris Crittenton, the Atlanta Celtics dominated the 2003 Adidas Big Time Tournament, setting tournament records for total points (895, in 10 games), fi eld goals made (344), and free throws attempted (344). Smith and Howard were named Outstanding Players of the tournament, while the All-Tournament Team included such notables as Daniel “Boobie” Gibson (Cleveland), Greg Oden (Portland), Earl “JR” Smith (Denver), and Rodney Stuckey (Detroit), as well as current Hawks teammates Morris, Marvin Williams and Al Horford.

“It was me, him and Dwight on the same team,” said Smith. “I remember the fun we had, we were young, we didn’t care about anything, we just went out there and played.”

Josh Smith

Randolph Morris

Marvin Williams

DwightHoward

by Jon Cooper

continued on page 7.

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“We always had fun off the court,” added Ran-dolph. “That was probably what you could take from the experience. We played well together but we had good chemistry off the court, too.”

Following that magical summer, the trio fi nished their senior seasons in high school in typical star fashion. Smith transferred from McEach-ern High School in Powder Springs to Oak Hill Academy, which he led to a 38-0 record and a No. 1 National Ranking, averaging 25.8 points, 7.4 rebounds, 6.0 blocks and 3.0 steals, while shooting 61 percent from the fi eld and 70 percent from the foul line. He was a Naismith Award Finalist, and a McDonald’s and PARADE All-American. Howard led Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy to the Class A state cham-pionship after leading them to runner-up status the previous season. He averaged 25.0 points, 18.0 rebounds and 8.0 blocks a game in winning the 2004 Naismith Award, the Gatorade Nation-al Player of the Year, McDonald’s National High School Player of the Year and Georgia’s Mr. Basketball. He was a PARADE All-American and was co-MVP of the 2004 McDonald’s High School All-American game.

Morris, meanwhile, starred at Landmark Chris-tian School in Fairburn, where he averaged 25.0 points, 16.0 rebounds and 4.5 blocked shots as a senior. Smith and Howard went straight to the NBA — Howard being selected with the fi rst pick by the Magic and Smith going 16 picks later to Atlanta — while Morris went to the University of Kentucky, where he helped the Wildcats to back-to-back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances. In what would be his fi nal college game, Morris scored 22 points and pulled down eight rebounds in a second-round loss to Kansas. Then, after going undrafted in the 2006 Draft, he became the fi rst player in NBA history to go from the NCAA to the NBA in the same week, signing with the New York Knicks. Once Morris became a free agent this summer, Morris saw the opportunity to play in Atlanta. He jumped on it, participating in summer workouts, where he caught the eye of Hawks’ coaches, then being invited to Training Camp and making the club. In the process, he was reunited with Smith.

He will never forget that Atlanta Celtics team.

“We’ve moved on a little bit, but we still have that bond there,” he said. “That’s where we came from. You can’t get rid of that.”

Picking a Sweet 16 just before the conference

season gets in full swings is like trying to herd cats

— you’ll get some, but not all. So here it goes.

And remember Hawks fans, on these

picks, DO NOT clip and save!

How Sweet it is

We have no doubts about these:

by Bob Rathbun

Bob Rathbun is in his 13th season as the television play-by-play voice for the Hawks. Rathbun calls all of the games on the Hawks’ FS South/SportSouth package.

Let the educated guessing game begin:They need to get hot

at the right time:

I’d love to see itbecause I really like

the head coachFrank Haith:

North Carolina

Louisville

Connecticut

Wake Forest

UCLA

Memphis

Notre Dame

Pittsburgh

Michigan State

Texas

Oklahoma Gonzaga

Miami

Purdue

Duke

Tennessee

7


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Hindsight is always 20/20. Foresight is a lot less predictable. The Hawks’ vision of the future when it came to the role of Ronald “Flip” Murray and the roll they would get on with him in their rotation was right on the money. While some saw the 29-year-old Murray’s free-agent signing solely in terms of his career per-game averages of 9.3 points, 2.4 assists, 2.0 rebounds and streaky .410 fi eld goal percentage, the Hawks saw more. They saw a veteran who offered the wide array of valuable experiences on the NBA level that came with playing in six seasons, participating in 29 playoff games with three different teams (Seattle in 2004-05, Cleveland in ’05-06 and Detroit in ’06-07, including helping the Pistons advance to the Eastern Conference Finals) and the ability to play both guard positions with poise and confi dence.

Flipping

Outby Jon Cooper

Photo by Greg Miller.


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11

The Hawks head into the end of January with 27 wins, and having reached the mark at the earliest point in a season since 1987-1988. Murray has been a big, albeit often understated, part of that success. Just ask two-time All-Star Joe Johnson. “He’s a clutch player, a guy who loves to win, plays hard every night, and he’s great offensively and defensively. So he’s not limited,” Johnson said.

Limited is one word that rarely enters the lexicon of adjectives describing Murray. He’s started (his career high was 27 — two with Seattle and 25 with Cleveland in 2005-06) and come off the bench, his primary role. While he started 17 of the 23 games he played last season with Indiana after signing with the Pacers last March 1, Murray has fi rmly embraced his role off the bench in Atlanta, where he and Maurice Evans have been stellar switching off as sixth man.

are going to defend him in games,” he said. “So we try to compete and go hard at each other and just try to make each other work.”

“We’re pushing each other to the limit,” Johnson said. “He’s a great competitor. He comes to compete every night. We’re always talking and trying to help each other out since we kind of play the same position.” Except, of course, when Murray is playing the point, as he frequently has spelling starting point guard Mike Bibby. Murray has even been given the keys to the store late in games, including the entire fi nal 12 minutes of Atlanta’s 115-99 victory over Golden State on Dec. 19. In that game the Hawks blew past the Warriors, outscoring them 36-18 in the fi nal stanza. Getting the ball late in games is a vote of confi dence from Head Coach Mike Woodson that is not lost on Murray.

“It says a lot. It says to me as a player, [Coach Woodson] has accepted my role-playing and I’m appreciative of that,” said the former second-round Draft pick of the Milwaukee Bucks in 2002, and Division II Player of the Year as a senior who led Shaw University to the Division II Final Four.

“That was my job to come in and try to be a spark off the bench,” said Murray, who leads the Hawks bench players in scoring average and is fourth on the team in steals per game. “We’ve come in and tried to contribute. We consistently give that effort off the bench and keep on coming and playing hard. “It can be anybody’s night. It could be my night, it could be Mo’s night, it could be Marvin’s night, it could be anybody’s night. You never know. You just have to go out and play team basketball.” Murray, who wears #22 as homage to his childhood hero Clyde Drexler, and was given the nickname “Flip,” by a good friend for his resemblance to the character played by the late Bernie Mac in the 1994 fi lm “Above the Rim,” goes out and plays hard every day. He especially enjoys going head-to-head with Johnson in practice. “Joe’s a great player but I try to make things tough for him, try to go at him hard in practice, because that’s how guys

“He lets you go out there and play your game. That’s all he wants you to do is just go out there and play basketball.”

Bibby also gives Murray a thumbs-up when it comes to running the show. “He’s brought toughness, penetration, he can beat his guy off the dribble any time he wants to so he can create a shot for himself or for anybody else,” Bibby said. “He can score at the same time.”

Regardless of whether it’s passing or scoring, Murray is having fun with Atlanta’s hot start and is looking forward to a memorable 2009 portion of the schedule. “Everybody’s playing ball together, everybody’s getting an opportunity to score the basketball and everybody’s making plays for other people,” he said. “So that’s giving a lot of open shots for us and guys are knocking shots down. Sometimes you have to be second, third, even fourth option, that’s something you have to accept,” he added. “When you got a chance to make a play you have to try to make that play. I hope that I can continue to come through.”

Jon Cooper is a local freelance writer who has also contributed work to Inside Stuff and Hoop Magazine.

“Everybody’s playing ball together, everybody’s getting an opportunity to score the basketball and everybody’s making plays for other people.” — Flip Murray

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ike most Florida Gators fans, Al Horford is living a pretty lucky existence these days (on a macro level anyway — obviously, missing 12 games with a bone bruise on his knee

makes his personal existence decidedly less lucky on a micro scale). Horford famously won two national titles with the Gators basketball team in 2006-07, during which time the Gators football team also won a championship, making UF the only school in history to hold both the college basketball and football titles at the same time. Horford was in the midst of his second title run when the football Gators defeated the Ohio State Buckeyes for their fi rst BCS title in 2007, so he wasn’t able to attend that year’s Fiesta Bowl where the game was played.

As luck would have it, this year’s Florida-Oklahoma BCS title tilt happened to take place in Miami the night before the Hawks were to take on the Magic in Orlando (in a game we won’t talk about), which allowed Horford the opportunity to take in the action in person with his former Florida ball coach, Billy Donovan. Here is his rundown of the experience of seeing his team win it’s second title in the last three years:

“The trip was pretty hectic. We had practice in Atlanta on the day of the game, and from there I fl ew into Miami and went straight to the stadium. It was quite a scene there, there were so many people tailgating, and immediately after I got there I was swarmed by Gator fans. It was pretty chaotic — I couldn’t fi nd my friends at fi rst, but fi nally found their location and was able to go hang out with them before the game started. I met up with Coach (Donovan) right before we went in, and then when we went inside it was just unbelievable. I’ve been to football games before, and I’ve been to big basketball games too, but I’ve never seen anything like the atmosphere that night — it was like 80% Gators fans. It was a great feel, everyone was really excited.

The whole game, I just kept looking at the clock. It’s funny — I don’t get nervous when I play. I wasn’t nervous in our big games at Florida, and I don’t get nervous in our games now, but I was nervous for that one. I knew Oklahoma was a good team, I knew they could make a comeback, so I just kept waiting for that clock to run out, I was just like ‘C’mon c’mon c’mon c’mon...’

With a few minutes left to go in the game, Coach Donovan and I got to go down on the fi eld to greet the guys, and it was just awesome to be able to see them do it again.

After the game I didn’t really get to celebrate too much, because we were playing the next day, so I headed on back to Orlando to meet back up with my teammates.

It was a great experience though, and it was really nice to get to spend some time with Coach Donovan. I always have a great time when I see him, we get to talk about everything that’s going on and catch up, so that was cool as well. I am really excited for the guys on the football team, and with Tim Tebow coming back next year, who knows what could happen?”

Micah Hart is the Hawks Web Guy, regular contributor of the Hawks BasketBlog at Hawks.com, and an all around swell guy.

L

by Micah Hart

BIGBIGBOSSBOSSand the BCSChampionship

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A - T O W N D A N C E R P R O F I L E :

Hometown: Temple Hills, MD

Birthday: October 17

College: BA from Spelman College

Current Profession: Doctorate of Chiropractic Student

Professional Dance Experience: I performed one year with the Washington Wizards Dance Team and am a fi ve year veteran of the Atlanta Hawks A-Town Dancers! I’ve had 20 years of dance training and have been a collegiate coach for 4 years!

Hobbies/Recreation: I enjoy playing all types of sports, but mostly with noncompetitive people. I just want to have fun, so what if I bowl a 65!

Favorite type of music: Gospel and R&B

Favorite vacation destination: Italy

Favorite Movie: Any romantic comedy that has a sweet happy ending!

Favorite Song: Victory by Tye Tribbett & GA

Favorite Food: Utz Salt-N-Vinegar Potato Chips (thankfully they are not sold in Georgia)

What book are you reading right now: A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose by Eckhart Tolle and any Eric Jerome Dickey book

Biggest Pet Peeve: Some things never change so it will always be fl ashing lights (cell phones, alarm clocks)

Best Quality: I keep an open mind when approaching new situations.

Three words that describe you: Self-assured, grateful and optimistic.

Favorite quote: ”A smile is a curve that can set things straight!” —unknown

Why I enjoy being a part of the

A-Town Dancers? The A-Town Dancers have the unique opportunity to dance for the best crowd in the country!


Photos by Greg Miller. 15


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Today could be the day.


17

Few players in NBA history shot the ball as well as Mark Price. Thanks to Price, few teams in the NBA are shooting the ball as well as the Hawks. Hiring the four-time All-Star, a career .402 shooter from three-point range, was a natural fi t for Atlanta.

“When I came in and talked to the coaches and [General Manager] Rick Sund, one of our goals was to become a better three-point shooting team, to have that weapon added to the arsenal,” said Price, who lives in Atlanta and was running his own shooting academy where he was visited by Sund and Head Coach Mike Woodson. “We started working on that early in the season, working with guys individually on their shots as well as getting up a lot of repetitions before and after practice. There’s a confi dence level that has to be there when you’re shooting those in the game. It’s one thing to do it in practice, but I’ve been real pleased at the way the guys are shooting the ball and shooting with confi dence when they get in the game.”

In mid-January, Atlanta remained tied with the Los Angeles Lakers for seventh in the NBA in three-point fi eld goal percentage (.380), and had three players in the top 50 in three-point shooting, none of them named Joe Johnson! (Mike Bibby was 21st, tied with Tracy McGrady, at .421, Marvin Williams was 31st, shooting .407, and Maurice Evans was 43rd, hitting .395. Joe was hitting .377 from three, 60th in the league).

In addition, Bibby was second in the NBA in threes made, with 59, with Johnson was tied for fourth only two back, while his 473 career three-point fi eld goals put him only 27 away from tying Dominique Wilkins for fourth all-time in Hawks franchise history.

“It’s been a real weapon for us, there’s no question about it,” said Price. “It really makes it tough when you can spread defenses out. It opens things up for Al Horford, for Joe Johnson to drive and do the work that they do. It doesn’t allow people to just clog the middle.”

A major reason for success in games is a game Price has instituted at the end of practice. The concept is simple: Players must hit three shots from each of fi ve spots on the fl oor. They shoot until they miss. It’s a race to the end from there. But there is a catch. Miss three shots from any spot before making three and you have to start over.

“We try to do things to get up a lot of shots but put a little competition in it,” said Price. “It makes it a little bit more fun for the guys, rather than just a monotonous kind of shooting and so they go at each other, try to see who can get fi nished fi rst. It’s something that they look for-ward to doing after practice. It’s not just ‘Oh, we’ve got to get up our three-point shots now.’”

He’s got an eager group of pupils, who are jazzed by the noticeable improvement in their long-distance shooting three, especially Bibby. “He makes sure guys are getting in that extra work,” said Bibby. “That extra work means a lot. Getting those reps in helps a lot with your shot. He’s been making sure everybody’s been getting in and doing that and rebounding for everybody.”

Just watch and listen at the end of every practice as Hawks players gather behind the three-point line, hooting and woofi ng at each other. Evans is a believer in the drill and the results that have shown up come game time. “The difference with them is when we shoot there are consequences,” he said. “You can’t get out of practice until you make your shots. That extra focus kind of helps you in game time situations because, obviously, there are dire consequences if you miss shots in games. So that little extra focus, coupled with the fact that we’ve been shooting well, it’s just great for your confi dence when you see the ball going in the hole.

the

priceis right

by Jon Cooper

The Atlanta Hawks Coaches (from left to right): Jim Todd, Larry Drew, Head Coach Mike Woodson, Bob Bender, Mark Price and Tyrone Hill

“He’s got his name up in the rafters in Cleveland. You can’t help but respect him.” — Mike Bibby on Hawks Shooting Consultant and former NBA great Mark Price

continued on the page 19.

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19

55 items he can’t travel without:Marvin Williams

Seeing the results adds credibility when Price offers technical suggestions. Of course, credibility was never really an issue with Price, who won back-to-back three-point shootouts during the 1993 and ’94 All-Star Weekends, and who is still remembered fondly by current Hawks.

“He was one of my favorites, a great point guard, a guy who could shoot and score and a guy who made his teammates better,” said Johnson. “He was a guy that I idolized and I loved watching him play.”

Opponents are learning that they can’t help but start respecting these sharp-shooting Hawks, who hope to put a banner of their own up in the Philips Arena rafters. While such a banner might become something of a distraction in future three-out-of-fi ve drills, that’s simply a risk the Hawks are willing to take.

Atlanta Hawks guard, Mike Bibby

Former Cleveland Cavaliers guard, Mark Price

1234

5continued from page 17.

Jon Cooper is a local freelance writer who has also contributed work to Inside Stuff and Hoop Magazine.

His 3G iPhone

His 2.66GHz MacBook Pro

His iPod

Extra underwear and socks*

A trout sandwich for the road

* In case they have to stay over somewhere because of weather

The trout sandwich is a specialty of Hawks team chef, Bradley Rouse.

Over the course of a season the Hawks spend upwards of 100 days on the road. Hawks 360 asked Marvin Williams what fi ve things he can’t travel without?

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Fashion trends this spring and summer:

The trends in fashion this spring and summer really depend on where you live and what the weather will be like. I’ve noticed, in the United States, different cities really have different styles. In Atlanta, fashion is always colorful and people like wearing diamond jewelry, both men and women. You see a lot of t-shirts with writing on them worn with sport coats. You also see a lot of t-shirts with pictures on them, especially Ed Hardy – both his t-shirts and hoodies are really popular. Jeans with button back pockets are also very popular here, sometimes with writing on the pockets.

While I don’t know yet what I’ll be wearing this spring and summer, I’m really looking forward to seeing what the designers come out with. Dolce and Gabbana, and Gucci will both be really hot, but we can always expect some surprises from other designers. So I’m looking forward to their new collections.

On the importance of hair:

Clothes are obviously important, but if you don’t take care of your hair, the clothes don’t matter. You should have the whole package, especially when you have longer hair like me. I have a great salon in Atlanta, James Madison. He’s kind of helping me work on my style that way.

How to be stylish on a budget:

I’ve been in the same situation as a lot of guys. When I was younger, I didn’t necessarily have the money but wanted to dress fashionably. My advice is, if you have good taste and good fashion, you can make anything look good on you. It doesn’t matter who you are or what brand you’re wearing. There are a lot of good, inexpensive brands, so anybody can dress up. One thing I do recommend, especially people with unusual sizes, is that they have their suits custom-made and fi tted. It just makes a huge difference.

My favorite designers:

Gucci is my favorite shoe designer. First of all, they make very nice shoes, and most importantly they make big sizes. Dolce and Gabanna make amazing shoes, but unfortunately, they really don’t make my size.

There are a lot of designers with good materials, but all of my suits are Armani. They fi t me really well. I met a great tailor from Milan who works with Armani. The fi rst time I bought a suit, I just got one to see how it would look. I was happy, so I ordered a couple more and kept going from there. I’ve been wearing Armani suits since my fi rst year in the NBA (with Orlando). I only had one suit before I got to the NBA, and I actually didn’t become a big fan of suits until the NBA instituted the dress code. Now even if Commissioner Stern said we could wear sweat suits to the games, I’d still wear suits. I like wearing them, plus they’re just much more professional, and we are always representing our organization as well as the NBA.

On how being a dad has changed his style:

One thing I really enjoy, that’s been a lot of fun, is dressing my son (Davit, born in October) in a small version of some of the same clothes I wear. For example, we both have Converse tennis shoes. Every time we’re going somewhere, to the mall or to a restaurant, we wear matching Converse.

Fashion Photo by Greg Miller

ISTAQ & A with Zaza Pachulia


21

he Hawks spread holiday cheer both on and off the court this winter. The team tipped the season off by hosting 100 underprivileged

children for a holiday meal with all the trimmings, while the entire roster of players and coaches, as well as the athletic training and equipment staffs, participated in an “Adopt-A-Family” program to provide gifts of new clothes, toys, food and other items to low-income families, with Mike Bibby sponsoring 100 children himself. In addition to the team’s activities, the players hosted a wealth of individual holiday events. Mario West threw a pizza party for patients at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, and then partnered with Marvin Williams and Acie Law IV to host the third “Flicks & Kicks” event, joining area children for a movie and dinner, before passing out gifts. Joe Johnson hosted the fourth “JJ’s Santa-Lanta for Kids” holiday event for 100 local teenagers, with dinner, bowling and presents, while Al Horford treated 25 children to dinner, arcade games and gifts at “Al’s Amigos Holiday Party.” And 20 kids took part in Zaza Pachulia’s shopping “Z-Spree” to select their own toys and gifts for children from his home country, the Republic of Georgia.

T

Zaza Pachulia’sZ-Spree

Al’s Amigos

Joe Johnson’s Santa-Lantafor Kids

Out &About

Photos courtesy of Jennifer Boxley.


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If you are a Hawks fan, you no doubt like to play a little roundball yourself from time to time. But as a weekend warrior, probably without access to the world-class training staff and workout facilities like the team, you have to be a little more careful in how you throw your body around to keep from getting injured.

6 Chicken Breasts1 Onion2 Pablano Peppers2 Jalepeno Peppers2 Serrano Peppers1 Bay Leaf2 Garlic Cloves1 Cup Dried Black Beans12 Large Tomatoes1 Tablespoon Freshly Ground Cumin¼ Cup Olive Oil1 Quart Chicken StockSalt and Pepper to taste

One of the most common injuries for the average basketball player is an ankle injury. Chattin Hill, the Hawks strength and conditioning coach, was nice enough to give us a few tips on how to prevent these from happening so you can hit the hardwood as often as you like.

1. Soak beans overnight.

2. Grill chicken breasts until done. Let cool. Dice and set aside.

3. Smoke tomatoes over hickory. Puree. Set aside.

4. Dice onion, all peppers, chop garlic, and sauté with olive oil in large pot. Add chicken stock and beans, cook for 20 minutes. Add smoked tomato puree, seasonings, chicken and simmer for an additional 20 minutes or until it thickens. Garnish with sour cream and Pico de Gallo.

Ankle Injury Prevention

Grilled Chicken &Black Bean Chili

by Chattin Hill

Chattin Hill is in his third season leading the team’s Strength and Conditioning efforts.

1. Do Balance Exercises.These are balance exercises, what we call proprioception exercises. A simple proprioception exercise you can do is ankle circles, where you balance yourself on one leg and circle your toes in one direction 10 times, then do it 10 times in the other direction, and then repeat with the other leg.

2. Hold stretches for 30 seconds.Whatever stretches you decide to do, whether they are ankle stretches, calf stretches, etc, you want to hold the stretch for a good 30 seconds to really achieve the desired effect.

3. Repeat stretches.Initially when you go to stretch a muscle, your body experiences something called a “stretch refl ex”. The stretch refl ex is basically your body’s natural instinct to limit the range of motion so as to protect itself from pulling or tearing the muscle. When you stretch the muscle twice, it allows you to overcome that refl ex and gain a wider range of motion for the muscles you want to use. So do two sets of every stretch you have planned and you’ll be much looser to start the game.

Standing

Calf Stretch

Ingredients: Directions:

by ChefBradley

Rouse

Chef Bradley Rouse keeps the Hawks well fed while monitoring their nutrition. In this edition of Hawks 360 he shares one of his “go to” Chili dishes… so you too can eat like an NBA player.


Q A& withMoEvans

Q: If you had to move in with one of your Hawks

teammates, who would it be?

Q: Which guy would you not want to move in with?

Q: So is he the prankster on the team?

Q: Who is the best trash talker you have ever heard?

Q: He was your basketball idol growing up,

what was it like to work at his camp?

Q: What was your fi rst car?

Q: And what do you drive now?

Q: We know that the Hawks are competitive on the

court, but off the court you guys get pretty juiced

up for something else…give us some insight on

these high intensity ping pong matches.

ver heard?

up,

ve on the

retty juiced

nsight on

s.

A: It would probably be Joe Johnson because he has the biggest house on the team.

A: One guy I would not live with would be Mike Bibby. He’s always playing a joke or a prank on someone on the team, and I don’t think I would ever get a chance to rest.

A: Mike’s usually the prankster who’s always got something up his sleeve. Even when we are just sitting on the bus on road trips, he is always throwing things at guys and then acting as if he did nothing wrong. He is a master at always blaming it on someone else too. The problem is we’ve never caught him in the act. I will say this, he’s great at keeping guys loose and he always knows when to lighten things up.

A: No question, Michael Jordan. I worked his basketball camp, and even there his intensity was amazing. It’s real with him, I don’t think there is an on/off switch when he gets on the fl oor.

A: It was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. I got to play with him every day for a week. He was everything that I thought he would be when I fi rst met, there was no let down at all!

A: A 1971 Chevette, it looked like the car from the movie “House Party.” It was terrible.

A: Now I drive an Escalade, it’s a lot more comfortable than the Chevette.

A: We have an annual ping pong tournament here. Marvin Williams is the best ping pong player on the team so far. Mike Bibby (of course) sabotaged this seasons rankings. He put all the brackets together before he even saw people play, so I had to play Al Horford, who was a fi nalist last year. As the new guy I was the 15 seed and had to play the number two seed (Horford). Mike Bibby strikes again.

Height: 6’-5” Weight: 220 lbs.5 year NBA veteran1st season with HawksCollege: University of TexasFree Throw: Has been to the NBA playoffs four straight seasons VITA

LS

Maurice Evans photo by Greg Miller. Other photos courtesy of Getty Images and Stock Photography.


Documents

Hawks 360 Magazine Volume 1, Issue 1