By Paul Newberry
Associated PressATLANTA ó Jeff Teague posed in the Hawks’ 18th-floor conference room, proudly holding up his new jersey with a number that hasn’t been seen very often in Atlanta.
Zero.
Less than 24 hours after going to the Hawks with the 19th pick, Teague flew into Atlanta. He plans to wear No. 0, just as he did at Wake Forest.
It’s his tribute to Gilbert Arenas, who adopted the number after being told he would never make it to the pros. “Agent Zero” is one of the league’s top players.
“It’s not the size of the guy, it’s the size of the heart,” Teague said. “That’s the biggest thing. If you play with a lot of heart and passion, you can exceed any expectations.”
Teague wasn’t highly recruited and arrived at Wake Forest weighing 155 pounds.
“I started wearing zero my freshman year of college,” said Teague, who’ll be only the third player to wear zero for the Hawks. “I was kind of like the Gilbert Arenas story.”
The Hawks bulked up in the backcourt just hours before the draft, trading for Jamal Crawford, and they hope to re-sign free agent guards Mike Bibby and Flip Murray.
Teague is still just 178 pounds, and seven other point guards were picked ahead of him.
“When we ranked all the guys, we just thought this young man fits in with how we want to play basketball here in Atlanta,” coach Mike Woodson said. “When you watch him on tape, he looks like he’s NBA ready.”