Hawks Talon GC Adds Talent In The Draft

It’s often said great teams are built through savvy signings and wise drafting, and the Atlanta Hawks Talon GC may prove that adage rings true even in the virtual sphere. After a middling 2020 campaign, coach Wes Acuff went to work on Saturday, selecting three players who should be able to complement their existing trio of stars. 

Possessing the 11th pick in the draft, the club chose Caesar Martinez (CEEZ), followed by Thomas Batts (FAKIEE) and Mike Swanegan (SWANN) in the second round. These three players will join a team that already has maybe the best player in the 2K league. 

“Being drafted by the Hawks Talon GC was the best feeling ever,” Martinez said. “There was adrenaline rushing all through my body, and I couldn’t sit down because I was pacing around my whole house. My phone was blowing up, and then I did some interviews. It’s just a moment that I will never forget in my entire life.”

Martinez and crew will not be asked to shoulder too much of the load early on, as the team can rely on Michael Diaz-Crus (BP) to shoulder much of the scoring and playmaking burden. Diaz-Cruz was a finalist for the 2019 2K MVP and last season was equally proficient for Atlanta. Mykel Wilson was an idea running mate for Diaz-Cruz as a secondary ballhandler, and Lee Lamb was named to the All-Rookie team after setting the franchise record for double-doubles. 

“We are excited to welcome CEEZ, FAKIEE and SWANN to the team,” said Hawks Talon Head Coach Wesley Acuff. “Going into this draft, we looked for players who would help us in elevating the play of BP, KEL and LEE, and we are very confident that each of these players will work hard and bring their best for our club this upcoming season.”

Coach Acuff said his focus this year is growing closer to his players and coaches, which may be easier this season as COVID (hopefully) begins to dissipate. In addition to coaching and training the team, Coach Acuff is also tasked with creating content such as “Talon Takeover” and working on the Women in Gaming development camp. 

“It’s exciting. Having worked in the NBA family for 12+ years it’s just fun to take real basketball knowledge and combine that with the game that we love to play,” Coach Acuff said. “Managing the daily operations, booking the team’s travel plans, managing the budget, and creating the content – that’s the real work. Practice and playing the games – that’s the fun part!”

But it goes without saying that even though content-creation will help spread awareness of the digital sport, at the end of the day he is being paid to win games and take Talon GC deep into the playoffs. After last year’s iffy record, coach Acuff hopes to help his squad succeed as much on-court as it will off-court.

“The first goal is simple, as far as gameplay. This year, I would like to make playoffs and see what we can pull off from there,” coach Acuff said. “But from a business standpoint, I would like to see Hawks Talon GC leave a mark in the community helping grow another generation of fans, as well as create some innovative and entertaining content that will help elevate NBA 2K League and esports industry to the next level.”


ABOUT TALON GC (copied from a team E-mail): 

Hawks Talon GC is the Atlanta Hawks affiliate team in the NBA 2K League. Led by Head Coach Wesley Acuff, Hawks Talon GC was one of four expansions team in the second season of the NBA 2K League, a professional competitive gaming league co-founded by the NBA and Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTWO). The NBA 2K League features the best NBA 2K players in the world competing as unique characters in 5-on-5 play against other teams in a mix of regular season games, tournaments and playoffs. For more information on Hawks Talon GC, visit hawkstalongc.gg or follow the team on Twitter and Instagram.

You can contact the author at Joseph.a.Dycus@gmail.com .