Hawks To Open Training Camp Oct. 5 At Philips Arena

Two-a-Day Practices Scheduled to move to Macon on October 11
-- Annual Media Day Activities set for Monday, October 4 at 2:30 p.m. -- ATLANTA, GA -- (Sept. 10, 2004) Atlanta Hawks General Manager Billy Knight today announced plans for the team to hold the first week of its 2004 training camp session on the Philips Arena practice court before shifting the workouts to Macon, GA on October 11th and 12th to the practice facility on the campus of Mercer University.
The Hawks will tipoff the 2004 preseason schedule in Macon on October 13 with an exhibition game at the Centreplex (formerly the Coliseum) against the Orlando Magic (7:30 ET).
“We look forward to the start of the 2004-05 season by splitting our training camp between Atlanta and Macon,” said Knight. “In addition to the excellent on-site facility we have at Philips, we are pleased to make our first visit to the outstanding basketball facility at Mercer University. We thank Athletic Director Bobby Pope and Head Coach Mark Slonaker for their hospitality.”
The Hawks’ annual media day activities signal the start of the 2004-05 season on Monday, October 4 at 2:30 on the Philips Arena practice court, with the first of two-a-day workouts scheduled to begin on Tuesday, October 5 at 10 a.m. There will be two practices each day, but media availability is set after morning practices only - at 11:30. Times are always subject to change, so please call the Hawks media relations department to confirm all times and locations.
Woodson’s troops are expected to hold an open practice session for fans on Sunday, October 10 (time to be determined) on the main floor at Philips Arena, prior to the Atlanta Falcons-Detroit Lions NFL game at the Georgia Dome.
Later that afternoon, the Hawks training camp workouts will move to Macon for the final two days in preparation of the preseason opener. While the workouts at Mercer will be open to the media for the morning sessions on October 11 and 12, the practices are closed to the public. There is a very good chance the organization will hold an open practice during their evening session on the 11th at the Macon Centreplex (more details to come).
Atlanta concludes its first training camp under new coach Mike Woodson with the preseason opener Wednesday night at the Centreplex against Orlando. The game also signals the first contest for several new faces to the Hawks roster - All-Star forward Antoine Walker, last year’s NBA Sixth Man of the Year runner-up Al Harrington, and top rookie draft picks Josh Childress of Stanford and Josh Smith of Virginia’s Oak Hill Academy and Powder Springs, GA.
Smith will square off for the first time as a professional against his former AAU teammate, Orlando’s Dwight Howard, the number one pick in the 2004 NBA Draft. The two players, who were both McDonald’s All-Americans last year, played together on the highly successful Atlanta Celtics squad that won the 203 AAU championship. For Howard, Georgia’s “Mr. Basketball” last season, the Macon contest brings back pleasant memories, as he capped off his prep career by leading his Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy team to the Class A Georgia state championship in the title game played at the Centreplex.