Mark Turgeon admits he didn’t think Kevin Huerter had a future in the NBA when he recruited him to play at the University of Maryland.
But by the start of his sophomore year, it was evident that not only could Huerter go play in the league but that he might be ready to leave sooner than expected.
I’m telling you, you can be as good as Middleton,’ ” Turgeon recalled to Sports Illustrated earlier this week.
Starter De’Andre Hunter was out for the season with a torn lateral meniscus and sharpshooter Bogdan Bogdanović was a game-time decision after exiting the prior outing early with right knee soreness.
Around the five-minute mark, Huerter took a handoff from Clint Capela at the top of the key, drove into the paint past Tyrese Maxey and flicked in a floater over Joel Embiid.
He was just 1-of-12 from the field by the halftime break, yet the Hawks were up by two on the road.
“Gallo kind of came to me at halftime and was just like, ‘Keep shooting,’ ” Huerter said after the game.
In prior games this season, Huerter had often impressed in the first half but struggled to get involved offensively in the second.
Through studying film he realized that his best games of the season were when he was driving and letting it fly within 10 to 15 feet of the basket.
In Huerter’s first two years in the league the Hawks’ focus was on developing its young players and there wasn’t a lot of talent around him, so he got the chance to play early.
Huerter has filled different roles throughout this season as he and the team have navigated how to get the best use out of the new-look roster amid injuries to Cam Reddish and Hunter, COVID-19 protocols and a coaching change midseason.
Huerter showed he belonged on this stage as he proved the unlikely hero to keep Atlanta’s improbable playoff run alive—not that Turgeon was at all surprised.