Before heading up to Secaucus, N.J., where he hopes the Atlanta Hawks can secure one of the top three picks in the NBA draft lottery on Thursday, director of basketball operations Billy Knight will evaluate his first set of players for the draft positions the Hawks are assured of receiving June 26 -- Nos. 21 and 32. Two-time Ivy League player of the year Ugonna Oneyweke of Pennsylvania, Ronald Dupree of LSU, Lavell Blanchard of Michigan and Prentiss Gates of the NAIA's Southern Polytechnic State University will work out for Knight and head scout Chris Grant this morning. The four players will undergo a series of basketball drills and take a psychological exam. A second group of Ohio's Brandon Hunter, Arizona State's Tommy Smith, Jerome Beasley of North Dakota and Florent Pietrus of EB Pau-Orthez (France) will arrive Friday, with Detroit's Willie Green, Tony Bland of San Diego, New Mexico's Ruben Douglas and Notre Dame's Matt Carroll set to perform Monday. Unlike past seasons, the workouts will be closed to the media. "If we get one of the top three picks, I'll open that up to the media, but I don't think that's necessary for 21 and [32]," Knight said. The Hawks receive the 21st pick from Indiana as compensation for the Jamaal Tinsley trade in 2001. As part of the Glenn Robinson trade, the Milwaukee Bucks will get the Hawks' lottery pick if it falls between 4 and 13. This will be exciting to see who we draft. This is not all the players that will be at workouts. There will be more later. I will keep you updated.
