Trae Young and the new-look Hawks put on a show for fans in their one and only preseason appearance at State Farm Arena on Wednesday. The crowd for an open practice, that was over announced at over 7,000 strong, made sure the team felt their love and excitement for the upcoming season with high expectations.
Leading the charge was the Hawks’ Sixth Man spirit section. The section led the crowd from the moment players stepped out for warmups to the end of the practice.
“I’m almost upset (Dejounte) Murray was not practicing but I am excited,” Rick Long said. “I’m happy he is here he will bring great energy and help on defense and with Trae (Young) so I’m excited it will be great.”
Ryan Riescher of the Sixth Man spoke to the appreciation of the fans.
“It was great to see everyone in action,” he said. “It was great to see competitive basketball for the first time this season. I can not wait to see how we stack up in a tough Eastern Conference this year.”
Assistant coach Mike Longabardi put the team through drills before a scrimmage. When Clint Capela elevated for a block, he received a cheer for his work.
“It was a lot more people than I expected to be out there,” Justin Holiday said. “You could feel the energy it was really cool to feel them. It was not even filled up and it was that loud? Super exciting.”
Holiday was not the only one from the Hawks organization to notice the energy.
“The crowd was great,” head coach Nate McMillan said. “The crowd has been great as long as I have been here. Coach Longabardi tonight was talking about how this was the first time he has seen this type of crowd at a scrimmage game. Everyone has been excited we wanted to go out and give them something to see.”
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