Othello Hunter finished his senior year at Ohio State University this past May, and after going undrafted in June he latched on with the Hawks for summer league play, garnering honorable mention All-Revue. Hunter impressed the Hawks so much that they signed him to a contract in August, and after a successful training camp and preseason, he is officially a member of the Atlanta Hawks. He agreed to keep a blog about his experiences during camp exclusively for Hawks.com.

10/28/08
The regular season tips off tomorrow, and I am still here, which is great news. It was funny, I actually got a call from my mom yesterday saying congratulations, and I was like, "what for?". She told me she had seen all over the internet that I had made the team. I didn't even know it was out there. I actually heard a few days ago, when Hawks GM Rick Sund called me and Thomas Gardner over to tell us he was keeping 15 guys on the roster to start the season and that we had made it. It was definitely a good feeling. Ever since I started playing this game, I wanted to make it to the NBA, so it's really a dream come true. I've talked to a lot of my friends and family and my old assistant coach from Ohio State, Dan Peters, and they all are very happy for me.

Still, the work is not over. I am glad to be here, but I know I still have a lot left to learn. I hope to get in some games early, but I will just continue to practice hard and try to help the team any way I can. I talked to Solomon Jones, and he said your rookie year is crazy. He said the first 30 games go by so fast, you won't even know it. That's going to be an adjustment I know, getting used to how many games we have. But hopefully I can just take it slow and let it come to me. The biggest thing I learned since training camp is how different the pace of the game is from college, so I am just going to continue to work on getting more adjusted to that.

We are getting ready to head out to Orlando for the season opener against the Magic, so I better go. Thanks to everyone who read my blog throughout training camp and the preseason. Maybe I'll keep it up during the season, we'll have to see.

10/18/08
Things are going well. I got into my second preseason game Wednesday night against Phoenix, and this time I got in much earlier in the game. To be honest, I was surprised, I didn't think I'd get in. But at the same time I was excited for the opportunity. I wasn't nearly as nervous this time around, but it was a little harder this time, because I was going in as small forward instead of power forward. It's not that different, but some of the defensive assignments are changed - on switches, the three doesn't go big-to-big (post player to post player) but instead covers the wing. I thought I played pretty well, but making that change was definitely an adjustment to what I'm used to.

Thursday the Hawks had their annual Charity Golf Tournament. It was fun - I've never played golf before, but I've always wanted to give it a try. I don't think I'm very good yet though - I took a few swings, and one time I accidentally hit the ball into the guy next to me. I liked it though, it's definitely something I want to try more in the future.

The Hawks cut two more players this past week, and now the team is down to 15 players. I feel good about my chances, but I am trying not to let it affect me. There are whispers that the team may only keep 14 players, but I can't concern myself with that. This is a business, and I can't control what decisions get made. All I can do is play the best I can and hopefully everything will work out for me.

Tomorrow night we play an exhibition game in Charlotte, which is near where I grew up in Winston-Salem. I'm very excited, my parents are going to come down and see it, so it will be great. Hopefully I'll get in so they can see me play.

10/13/08
After not playing in the first two preseason games, I was starting to get a little antsy wondering if I was going to get into a game. It's obviously not anything I can control, but you want to get out there and compete and try to show the team what you are capable of. Friday's game against Portland seemed like a good opportunity for me with Zaza Pachulia unavailable, but I didn't want to get my hopes up too much.

Still, when they called my name to go in, I was totally not expecting it. In fact, I was really paying attention to the game, and I didn't even hear them call my name. They called it again and I still didn't hear it, and then everyone on the bench was like, "Coach is calling you man, it's your chance!"

I admit, I was nervous going in. It was like "Wow, an NBA game." My hands were shaking. But after a few moments I started to settle in and just play.

I thought I did well. I always think I can do better, and I think I could have played a little better defense and rebounded a little better, but overall I was happy with my play.

In the game, I also got to go up against my former teammate Greg Oden. It was cool, but nothing new. I was used to going against him in practice when we were at OSU together. It was cool to see him though.

Now we are back in Atlanta, with our first home game tonight at Philips Arena. I don't know much about the atmosphere here yet, I'll have to ask my teammates about what to expect. I guess it's probably different for preseason though anyway.

We have moved out of the hotel we all stayed in for training camp, and now I am back in my own place. It's nice to be in my own bed, but the cable isn't set up yet. They are supposed to come out in the next couple days - I need to get that going ASAP.

Hopefully tonight's game will go well, and hopefully I'll get another chance to get in and show what I can do.

10/08/08
The last few days getting ready for my first NBA game I have been really happy. It's really cool to be going through all this. And though I didn't get to play in the game Monday night at Orlando, I still feel like it was a great learning experience. Sitting there, watching the game unfold, watching the defense, seeing how the defensive calls were made and executed, the rotations, it all made more sense watching it in action.

One thing I noticed is that the game is no different than practice. Guys practice the way they play - the guys who practice hard play hard. We had a great week of training camp, and I thought it showed in our performance.

We are on a three-game road trip to start the preseason, playing at Orlando, Phoenix, and against Portland in Kansas City. The NBA lifestyle is nice - we stay at nice hotels and travel on a private plane. Some people I think get excited about that stuff, but I won't lie, I'm a little used to it from Ohio State (though the Hawks plane is nicer). The biggest difference now is that as a rookie I have to carry people's bags and drop off jerseys and stuff.

I don't know if I'll play on this trip, but I am realistic. There is still a lot I can learn just watching the game, and I think I still have a lot to learn as a player. The coaches haven't told me anything, but I've talked to a lot of guys about it, and they all say you just have to be patient. In your rookie year you can't expect much. One guy told me didn't play for almost two years and then got in for like 30 seconds. If I don't get in, it just shows I need to work harder, and hopefully it will pay off.

In the meantime, I thought the team played really well against Orlando. We really came together as a team - the starters, the bench, everyone seemed to be on the same page. Hopefully we will keep that spirit up when we play the other two games on this trip as well, but it definitely seemed like a good start for us.

10/03/08
We are three days into camp now, and I'm starting to get used to everything. The first day of practice was tough. It was a lot of running, getting used to a faster pace, but since then it's been getting a little easier to deal with. This is my first professional training camp, and so far the speed has been the biggest difference from what I went through at Ohio State. In college everything was really packed in, but here it seems like everything is all about spacing.

For this year's camp, the Hawks have us all staying at a hotel during the first week. I'd probably be staying at a hotel anyway, but for the guys who live here I guess that's different. I've been hanging out a lot so far with Thomas Gardner and Frank Robinson, who are both going through pretty much the same situation as I am trying to come in and make the team at this point. But for the most part I'm just trying to get my rest. We are practicing during the morning, and then we have study after dinner at night, so I've been trying to get some rest for a few hours in between as well as at night.

The vets have been real cool to us so far. With the young guys who are still just learning the Hawks system, they are real helpful, showing us the spots and if we mess up explaining what we did wrong so we can work on it. Josh Smith has been real helpful to me as well, I've talked to him a bunch. He's helped me out with some parts of my game and he's been real willing to show me stuff which I appreciate.

Overall, I think I'm doing ok so far. I know I can do a lot better, but I'm just going to keep working at it. Yesterday I thought my shot was a little off, but hey, it happens. I just have to keep working to improve.

10/01/08
The Hawks asked me to write a blog about my experiences during training camp and (if things go well) beyond. First and foremost, I want to say what a blessing everything has been so far. Coming from where I came from, all the obstacles I've faced and all the steps it took just to get this far, it's been a wild ride. Most guys started off as big names, but I never was one of them. I have had to work my way up to get everywhere I've been so far, and I'm sure it will be the same in the NBA. I can't stop now, and hopefully my determination and hustle will lead to bigger and better things in the future.

Training camp is intense, starting with Media Day on Monday. We had Media Day every year when I was at Ohio State, but there were way more people here for this one. All these reporters are here talking about NBA stuff, it's definitely new. We had a lot of attention at OSU, maybe even more than we should have when we went to the Final Four with guys like Greg Oden, Mike Conley, and Daquean Cook, but this is different.

I'm enjoying being in Atlanta so far. The main time I was here before was when we went to the Final Four in 2007, and we had a great time back then even though we lost in the championship game. I've made it a point not to talk about that with Al Horford yet. Still, even though I haven't been here much, I think of Atlanta as being my city.

I'm still getting used to camp, but fortunately I have my former teammates to rely on. I've been able to talk to Greg and Mike, and Daquean a little too, and they've all been through this before.

I'm just excited to get everything going and do my best, and hopefully good things will happen.