Atlanta Hawks new coach ready for the challenges of building team from 'bottom up'

Jet, July 26, 2004

Though Atlanta Hawks new coach Mike Woodson knows of the major challenges that await him in his first job as a head coach, his excitement hasn't wavered at all.

The 46-year-old Woodson looks to rebuild a team that went 28-54 last season and have missed the playoffs for five straight years. They had only five players on their roster before last month's NBA draft and had the league's worst attendance last season.

"We've got a lot of work to do, we're kind of starting from the bottom up," Woodson said. "What better way to put your name on something and try to build than from the bottom up?"

Woodson, who played in the NBA for 11 seasons, was Larry Brown's top assistant last season for the NBA champion Detroit Pistons, one of four teams Woodson has coached in his career. He came with Brown from Philadelphia to Detroit for the 2003-04 season.