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| Al Horford |
Al Horford
Center, Atlanta Hawks
A Winning Mentality
Its just minutes before warm-ups and tip-off of Game 1 of their best-of-seven playoff series against the Miami Heat, but the Atlanta Hawks locker room couldn’t be quieter. Sophomore sensation Al Horford isn’t alarmed by the silence.
“I think the best way to prepare for the playoffs is to keep the same routine,” says Horford, leaning all the way back in the chair in front of his locker. “I go about my business every day. I’m doing what I do every day before every game.”
Business has been good for Horford for a long time. After starring at Grand Ledge High School in Michigan the highly recruited power forward landed at the University of Florida where he went on to win national championships in 2006 and 2007.
Horford brought his winning attitude to the Hawks the minute he walked onto the stage in the 2007 NBA Draft where he was chosen with the third pick overall. With his arrival, the Hawks saw a seven-win improvement in their record and their first trip to the playoffs since 1999. Naysayers scoffed at a team with just 37 wins sneaking into the playoffs with a losing record, but the doubters were silenced when the Hawks pushed the eventual 2008 NBA champs, the Boston Celtics, to seven games. The shock was due in large part to Horford’s never-back-down play and the momentum carried over into this season.
“It feels good coming into this season with a winning mentality, winning record and having home court advantage is [a] big [plus] for our team,” says Horford about the team’s improvements since last season. “But the playoffs are different. We have to bring that killer mentality to get it done here.”
–maurice g. garland
