Atlanta Hawks rookies show what they are capable of in G-League contests

The Atlanta Hawks drafted well in the 2021 NBA draft where they selected Jalen Johnson in the first round and then Sharife Cooper in the second round. Travis Schlenk appears to have done it again with these selections.

Cooper was the driving force in the College Park Skyhawks’ first game of the season, putting on a show along with DaQuan Jeffries. While Jalen Johnson struggled in the first game, he showed that he could bounce back with a tremendous performance.

Then the Skyhawks had a week off while the varsity squad was in town playing a stretch of five home games. This was the first time that the two schedules were able to meet up and this really benefitted the rookies from the 2021 NBA draft.

The Atlanta Hawks rookies showed the benefits of being with the varsity squad.

In the first game against the Delaware Blue Coats, Sharife Cooper had a solid double-double with 17 points and 13 assists in a game which showed his leadership skills at the point guard position. The only drawback was that he was inefficient from the floor going 6-of-15.

Johnson had his second straight double-double of the G-League season with  11 points and 11 rebounds which showed that he is going to be a problem at this level for most teams. Skylar Mays was also strong with 24 points.

However, the second game against the Blue Coats was a masterclass by Johnson. He had his first-ever professions 20-20 double-double. He collected 23 rebounds to go along with 21 points. However, he was not done there, filling the stat sheet with three assists, two steals, and a block. Mays was again strong with 18 points while Cooper had an off night.

Unfortunately for the Skyhawks none of these tremendous performances have resulted in a win yet. It is only a matter of time before this team comes together though and if they don’t, this league is about development which is what the youngsters are doing every time they hit the floor.