Atlanta Hawks: Checking In On the College Park Skyhawks
By Dallin Duffy
Checking in on the Atlanta Hawks’ G-League affiliate, the College Park Skyhawks.
In their first year of existence, the College Park Skyhawks are 20-20, close to grabbing a playoff spot in the G-League playoffs. The Hawks’ minor league team hasn’t been as necessary with most of their young talent playing with the big league club right away.
Despite some rookie struggles, De’Andre Hunter and Cam Reddish have not suited up for College Park, and Bruno Fernando played three games there.
The Hawks had two players on two-way contracts to start the year, Brandon Goodwin and Charlie Brown. Goodwin was signed to a multi-year deal with the Hawks to stay in Atlanta full-time, but played 17 games with the Skyhawks before that.
Charlie Brown is currently down in College Park after spending an extended time in Atlanta while the Hawks dealt with injuries. He’s played 26 games, and is second on the team in both points and minutes per game.
In terms of permanent G-League players, the Skyhawks have a few notable players. Former Georgia State standout and 2015 first-round pick R.J. Hunter signed with the team in early February, and has played in seven games since, averaging 7.4 points and 3.0 assists.
Marcus Derrickson and Armoni Brooks have both played all 40 games, with Brooks shooting over 40 percent from three on 5.7 attempts. Jordan Sibert, who signed a 10-day with the Hawks last season and played in one game, has averaged nearly 30 minutes per game, and is fourth on the team in points.
Nick Ward, the rookie out of Michigan State, has made a case for a spot on a NBA team in the future. Since joining the team after a brief stint overseas, Ward has averaged 6.5 rebounds and 13.2 points per game while shooting 60 percent from the field.
Cat Barber has continued to be the scoring machine he was at NC State, leading the non-two-way players in both points and assists per game with 16.4 and 6.1 on 48 percent shooting.
Eight of the Skyhawks’ final ten games are at home, giving them to move into the playoffs. They currently hold the 8th seed, but only six teams make the G-League playoffs, so they have some work to do. They’re just a game behind for a playoff spot.
While they don’t have the top tier young talent of some other G-League teams’ they are still fun to watch, especially when spark plug Charlie Brown is with the team.
We’ll keep you updated on their playoff endeavors as the season draws near close.