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NBA ALL-STAR WEEKENDFebruary 13, 2015Kenny AtkinsonNEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK Q. Right now a lot of people are coaching young players and they have a huge challenge in front of them, because always the young people want to get everything so fast as possible. And the job of the coach is to keep them -- give them the strong process as possible in order to help them. What would you advise to those coaches in order to enhance the job that they have in front of them? KENNY ATKINSON: Good question right off the bat. Patience, that's the number one thing. I think that's one of the thrills of being a coach in the NBA, is being able to work with the younger players. Dennis Schroder, if you think about it last year, he was 19 years old. So that's a challenge not only technically to help him improve, but I think mentally to help him learn the ropes of the NBA, what it takes to be a professional. So I think that's a big part of our job, and as an assistant coach, I can just talk with my experiences, we have obviously a fair amount of influence on these guys. We take it as a big responsibility. And it's not just on the court. It's off the court, too. So I think when you're in these All-Star situations, the great opportunity to maybe teach a little bit, be a good influence. So that's about it. Q. What was that like, getting to coach Wiggins? Even though it was an exhibition game, just watching the display he had tonight? KENNY ATKINSON: What a fantastic talent. He's so versatile. Athletic, obviously. Can shoot. I mean, he has a world of talent. And it's exciting. When you coach an athlete like that, a first pick, it's like, wow, you can see -- you can really see the difference, the talent level. You know, we're in the NBA every day, and we see a lot of talented players. But sometimes you can see the guys that really can surprise you. And he's one of those guys. But we had a bunch of guys -- Gobert, obviously, pretty impressive. Giannis. I can go down the line. Great experience coaching a guy like that. Q. Just a question about the health of the game at the moment, young players: We're seeing less and less 23-year-old rookies. More 19 and 20-year-old rookies. What level of maturity do you think these players have nowadays? And do you think they're capable of maintaining sustained success once they've gone past the early stages? KENNY ATKINSON: I think that's a great question. I think it's such a case-to-case situation, player-to-player. I just think of Dennis Schroder, who we had last year at 19. I just think of the progress he made in a year. And I'm not just talking about technically and his fundamentals. I'm just talking about the maturing of the player. So I think it's -- again, I'm kind of repeating myself -- a great challenge for us coaches to help these guys. Are yeah, there's going to be more and more young players, talented players. I think it's important that the organization has a great, great structure and a great program in place that these guys don't come in and just are overwhelmed by the situation. So I think with the Hawks we have great veteran leadership. How big is that? We have a coach who really appreciates youth and appreciates player development. We have a big staff. We have a huge support staff. So I think that's a little bit underrated. How strong is your organization? How much support system do you have for these guys? So I'm really happy where we are with the Hawks with that. But I think teams are going to be putting more and more emphasis on making sure there's a correct support system in place. Q. Do you see youth players both internationally and nationally are getting better prepared from a mental level and for the game preparation and development, so that when they come to you at the pro level, they're better prepared than they used to be? KENNY ATKINSON: No doubt. I see a huge difference even my time with the Rockets, even Luis Scola, who was kind of a veteran player. These guys have no fear now. I think that's done. Oh, man, I'm in the NBA. And they know about the NBA. I find every year these guys seem more and more prepared. It's almost like besides the language situation, they are -- it's getting to be where it's almost seamless. They get what it's about and the adjustment seems a lot easier. From the first time I came into the league, now guys seem a lot more ready mentally and physically what's going on. Young people, you know how they talk amongst each other. They get it. Q. Do you think players are now peaking at a higher level since they're coming in at a higher level? KENNY ATKINSON: Good question. Yeah. I think, yeah. I think that's a fair statement. Q. Do you want to back that up a little bit more? KENNY ATKINSON: I don't want to give any specific -- I have a few specifics, but I don't really want to talk about players or specific players. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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