Lo-Wright Hazes Horford

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<span class="template"><span class="body">Forget Tuesday's opening practice; the process of training camp officially started for Al Horford the night before.</span></span></p>

Well, it was the hazing that started Monday, when Horford was politely ordered out of an elevator by veteran center Lorenzen Wright.</p>

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"I said, 'Get off of here, rookie,' " Wright said, re-enacting the scene in the hallway outside the locker room after Tuesday's session.</p>

"He looked back at me like he didn't want to get off. I think he had to think about it for a second. But he got off that elevator."</p>

Horford might not be the man on the elevator, but he's holding his own everywhere else.</p>

The No. 3 pick in the June draft has already generated quite a buzz in the locker room, with teammates tossing around words like "special" and "beast" when the conversation turns to the rookie power forward/center from Florida.</p>

Josh Smith, who graduated in the same high school class as Horford, already has the 6-foot-10, 245-pounder pegged for Rookie of the Year honors.</p>

"I think it's pretty obvious he can bang with anybody out there," Smith said. "He's long and extremely skilled around the basket. And he's an incredible rebounder. He's real active, and I think he'll add that toughness down low on our team that we really need. I think he'll make a major impact as soon as he gets on the court."</p>

Where Horford will get on the court remains the unsolved mystery. He's a natural power forward capable of playing center. But Smith, a budding star entering his fourth NBA season, has that position locked up.</p>

A player with Horford's blend of size, skill and athleticism shouldn't have a hard time finding his niche, according to a Hall of Famer who stalked the sidelines Tuesday.</p>

"He'll play wherever you want him to play," said Hawks vice president of basketball Dominique Wilkins, who represented the team at the May draft lottery but began his ongoing praise of Horford long before he was picked. "Al's one of those kids that listens and learns and understands his role. He doesn't need the ball in his hands all the time to be effective. And that's a gift.</p>

"He's a guy that knows how important it is to be a piece, a special piece, to the larger puzzle. He showed that at Florida. You don't win the way they did without having special kids that have a deep understanding of the concept of team."</p>

Horford also has experience sharing. He did so at Florida, with fellow lottery pick Joakim Noah, as the pair helped guide the Gators to back-to-back national titles.</p>

"We didn't worry about positions," said Horford, who admitted that he's concentrating on listening and learning more than anything else. "We just played. We played two forwards, and we just got after people. The details didn't matter."</div></p>

Source: AJC.com</p>
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