Shooters shoot.
For Kevin Huerter, the basketball adage applies even with a torn hand ligament. The guard played much of his sophomore season at Maryland with an undiagnosed torn ligament between his ring and pinkie fingers on this right hand. The injury remained while Huerter tested the NBA draft waters through the scouting combine and team workouts.
That was until the day Huerter took one final painful blow to the hand. A day later, after an MRI and second opinion, the ligament was re-attached to the joint during surgery.
Still, Huerter’s shooting skill and basketball ability impressed enough that the Hawks selected him with the 19th overall pick in the 2018 draft. His NBA career will start in earnest after the six-week timetable for recovery ends next month. He won’t play in upcoming summer leagues in Salt Lake City and Las Vegas but is he expected to be ready before training camp.
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“We are all a piece to the pie,” said Huerter, wearing a soft cast, during an introductory for Hawks draft picks this week. “It’s a fresh start for everyone. It’s a young team I think will be hungry to win. There is a huge learning curve but I know the things I can do. I’m confident in my game and I can help this team in any way Coach (Lloyd) Pierce sees fit.”
Huerter was injured during a game at Northwestern on Feb. 19. He played the final two games of the season with the injury and made just 2 of 9 3-point attempts, far below his .417 average from distance.
An invitation to the NBA scouting combine sealed Huerter’s decision to remain in the draft, despite his own previous doubts. He went through several team workouts, including one for the Hawks, until he was hit battling for a loose ball in workout in Los Angeles. The pain was finally too much.
Huerter will wait for the start of his NBA career after he showed the Hawks what he could do despite being injured.
“To be honest, when I came here I didn’t shoot it well at all,” Huerter said. “Everyone else was excited about the other things I was able to show. I remember I played really well within the 3-on-3 and 1-on-1 work. I was good at getting downhill, getting to the basket and making plays. I didn’t shoot it well as I wanted to but they saw past that. They looked further at my game.”
Pierce, about to start his first season as Hawks head coach, wants players that come with three different skills – the ability to shoot stationary, in movement and off the dribble. He already knows Huerter possesses the first two characteristics. A player’s ability in movement will be key as a new scheme is implemented.
Said Pierce: “When you have a guy like (fellow draft pick) Trae (Young) who can facilitate. If you have a guy like Dennis (Schroder) who can facilitate. If you have a guy who has the defense constantly moving, that’s an added skill. It’s an added value. It’s what makes Golden State hard to guard because all those guys are moving, all those guys are shooting off the dribble and all those guys can catch-and-shoot. That is just from the 3-point line.
“It gives you that other layer of shooting. A lot of the league is just catch-and-shoot 3-pointers, specifically in the corners, but if you get a guy who is moving the defense and allows guys to attack and then when there is separation you are going to get free opportunities. He is an added weapon without the basketball.”
The Hawks discussed moving up in the draft to select Huerter. They were willing to give up the No. 19 and No. 34 picks to move up a few spots. However, the move was not necessary after the selections from the teams in front of the Hawks.
Huerter, 6-foot-7, averaged 14.8 points per game in his final collegiate season. The shooter’s mentality remains even with the extended 3-point line in the NBA. Asked if the three additional feet would be an issue, Huerter shrugged off the distance.
“My college days, I really didn’t see the college line,” Huerter said with a grin. “I’ve been shooting from this distance for a little while now. It shouldn’t be that bad.”
Shooters shoot.
