Atlanta's Larry Drew to Draw on Experience Entering First Year as Coach

It took five stops covering 18 years as an NBA assistant for Larry Drew finally to get this opportunity.

He is more than ready to succeed.

Drew, 52, was in his office Wednesday morning well before the traffic snarled outside and rush hour even began, reviewing plans for his upcoming training camp with the Atlanta Hawks, his first as a head coach in the NBA.

It's an opportunity he has coveted for years, and one he thought might never come.

"There is no doubt in my mind that I'm ready for this,'' Drew told FanHouse. "I had hoped to get this chance a lot sooner -- eight or nine years ago -- but the wait has given me plenty of time and experience to prepare for it.''

Drew became the latest former NBA point guard to step into the head coaching ranks, following Scott Brooks (Oklahoma City), Doc Rivers (Boston), Scott Skiles (Milwaukee) and Avery Johnson (New Jersey), guys he once played against -- and often beat off the dribble -- but now must beat from the sideline.

It may have taken him longer than the others to reach this point, but he won't concede anything now.

Fortunately for him, he is inheriting a pretty good team, which is not the norm for first-year coaches, and not typical when a coaching change is made. His background, and his team, gives him a recipe to win.

Although lost in the hoopla over offseason moves in Miami and Boston, the Hawks quietly have been building a team now close to seriously contending in the Eastern Conference.

They won 53 games last season, improving their win total for the fifth consecutive year, making a coaching change primarily because a second-round playoff collapse was too embarrassing to ignore. It cost Mike Woodson his job, but it gave Drew -- his assistant the last five years -- a chance to win immediately.

"I enjoyed myself as an assistant at every step. And I was pretty much resigned to the fact it would be a permanent role in this league for me,'' he said. "But I understand the nature of this business. And I'm more than ready.''

"I'll have the same open door policy I always had, but they already know there is another side to Larry Drew. I can be very demanding. And every guy will be held accountable.''
- Larry Drew Drew has the advantage of being familiar and close to his roster already. There will be no surprises when he opens training camp later this month. He has a nucleus now that has grown up together in the organization, watching their every move.

"The most important thing, when you move over a seat (from assistant to head coach) is if they respect you and believe in what you do,'' he said. "And I think I've gained the respect, the trust of our guys. I'll have the same open-door policy I always had, but they already know there is another side to Larry Drew. I can be very demanding. And every guy will be held accountable.''

Drew has All-Star guard Joe Johnson to build around, although he expects to lessen his load, getting more from forwards Josh Smith and Marvin Williams, and from center Al Horford. After getting pummeled by Dwight Howard and the Magic in the playoffs, they added Etan Thomas and Josh Powell to give them more front-court muscle.

"You'll see some differences this season. Offensively, I want to bring a little more structure to what we do. I'm not saying we didn't have it before, but there are some things I want to do differently. I want more (ball) movement,'' he said. "I want to be more aggressively defensively, have more of an attack mode. We're an athletic team, and I want to use our athleticism to the fullest.''

Drew played for the Pistons, Kings, Clippers and Lakers. He previously coached for the Nets, Wizards, Pistons and Lakers, where he worked under Byron Scott, Doug Collins, Alvin Gentry and Magic Johnson.

"Everywhere I've gone, as a player and as an assistant, I'll take a little bit from each stop. I saw things I liked, and things I didn't like,'' he said. "It was all part of the learning process for me.''

Drew will be making his debut at the same time that his oldest son, Larry Drew II, will be starting his junior season with the North Carolina Tar Heels, a point guard like his father.

The key to Drew's season in Atlanta might be the development of his own second-year point guard Jeff Teague, who is hoping to replace the aging Mike Bibby, who was exposed badly in the playoffs. And if there's one thing Drew knows about, it's point guards.

"The way last season ended, it left a bad taste in everyone's mouth,'' Drew said. "And hopefully, guys will remember that when training camp opens. We'll learn from that. We all will, and it's going to make us better this time around.''