Soaring Down South
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Atlanta Hawks: 6 prospects to keep an eye on during the Final Four

By Joshua Buckhalter

Mar 5, 2022; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils forward Wendell Moore Jr. (0) drives to the basket as North Carolina Tar Heels guard Caleb Love (2) defends during the first half at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 5, 2022; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils forward Wendell Moore Jr. (0) drives to the basket as North Carolina Tar Heels guard Caleb Love (2) defends during the first half at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports /
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This weekend is huge and not just because the Atlanta Hawks will face the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday with a chance at sole ownership of the eight-seed if they win and the Charlotte Hornets fall to the Philadelphia 76ers. At 40-37, the Hawks are three games above .500 for the first time all season.

Saturday will see the NCAA Men’s Final Four take place with Kansas hosting Villanova and then North Carolina versus Duke.

Among the many storylines of the day will be Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski in what could be his final game and would be the second time that the Tar Heels ruined one of his final moments after knocking off the Blue Devils in Coach K’s final home game.

More relevant to the Hawks are several prospects who could be of interest this June.

Last summer, the Hawks lucked into rookie Jalen Johnson, a Duke product, with the 20th overall pick after his shortened collegiate career and an anticlimactic exit left many to question his maturity. He’s answered those questions in spades with his willingness to go down to the G-League and hone his craft, a path that has paid off in recent performances.

Could the Atlanta Hawks target one of the prospects in the Final Four?

The Hawks might not get so lucky this time around as to have a player widely-regarded as a lottery talent fall all the way down to them wherever they may wind up when all is said and done at season’s end.

We know that, by clinching a spot in the Play-In Tournament, they will not be drafting in the lottery.

Hopefully, whatever type of run they manage takes them even higher than that.

Tankathon.com currently has them picking 14th given their current standings and the thought that they could indeed fall in a one-game scenario. The site currently has the Hawks taking Baylor’s Jeremy Sochan. What about other potential fits, maybe even outside of the first round, in Saturday’s contests?