Walking into Hagan Arena one day after St. Joes beat Tulsa in the DIRECTV Charleston Classic 79-75, you could feel something was different.
People were in the stands for a practice. Yes, we said practice. Coach Phil Martelli joked thats what a win of that caliber will do for a program.
Truth is, Jameer Nelson had tweeted that he was going to practice with the Hawks on Monday. The Tulsa win was nice, but No. 14 still attracts a crowd eight years after he helped orchestrate the perfect regular season on Hawk Hill.
It feels great to be here, Nelson said. I would rather be playing basketball in my league but I had a great opportunity to practice with the guys and get up and down a little bit, so it was fun.
With the NBA is in the midst of a work stoppage that reached 144 days on Monday, Nelson took advantage of this holiday week to catch up with family and friends around his old stomping grounds.
My main concern is just to stay ready no matter what is going on, the Magic point guard explained. You have to stay ready, whether it is tomorrow, next month, whatever it is going to be you have to stay ready and keep it professional.
Nelson recently participated in a charity game put on by his fellow Orlando teammate Dwight Howard.
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It was fun for the city for the fans to see us all out there, Nelson said. It was fun for the guys to be together, joke and have fun doing things we normally do this time of the year. It was all about the fans that day and really all weekend. Dwight did a great job putting things on, bowling events, the game. It was great.
Still, it was not one of the 82 regular season games Nelson has grown accustomed to playing for the last eight years as an NBA player.
This thing I am going through with the lockout is a gift and a curse, he said. I get to spend more time with my family. You give up one thing you love to do to do another thing you love to do.
Nelson was not the only NBA player in Hagen Arena Monday. Former Sixers guard Willie Green is an intern for the Hawks this fall. Green expressed this past summer to Martelli and his staff that coaching might be in his future, but he had no practical experience.
Martelli had no problem including Green in meetings and practices.
Willie has been remarkable, Martelli said. When he came in August and he said if this thing goes the way they are projecting, can I come and just watch? Literally, he is out there as an intern, an observer. He has a great rapport with these young guys and they have tremendous respect for him. He is a pros pro. I think guys have really picked up on the fact that Jameer and a Willie Green you are going to be associated with people in our program that are really quality people.
Green is an unrestricted free agent so he cant risk getting hurt by playing with the Hawk squad. But Nelson led by example the way he always had at 54th and City Avenue.
He is such a special guy that it can only give you an infectious attitude, Martelli said of his most famous student athlete. It has to help our guys because what they understand is the quickness and speed with which he does everything. I dont think he can teach his vision but he has a seriousness of purpose. So if he was going to be with us today for an hour and 15 minutes, every play that he could be in in that hour and fifteen minutes he was going to do.
A lot of young players think maybe I can sit out this drill because it is a defensive drill and then I can jump back in when it is an offensive drill.
It is clear that Hawk Hill is still near and dear to Nelsons heart and vice versa. At a time where nothing about the NBA seems to make sense, reminders of simpler times are refreshing. Jameer Nelson is just that.
E-mail Dei Lynam at dlynam@comcastsportsnet.com.