ONE SHINING MOMENT
Shen grad Kevin Huerter drafted No. 19 by Atlanta Hawks
A Clifton Park Knight, a Shenendehowa Plainsmen, a Maryland Terrapin and now an NBA Rookie with the Atlanta Hawks, it all came together Thursday night at the Edison Club for 19-year-old Kevin Huerter who saw his name announced by commissioner Adam Silver as part of the 2018 NBA Draft show.
Surrounded by almost 200 friends, family members, fans and the media, Kevin Huerter and his family sat in the front row of the patio watching the NBA Draft, checking his phone, leaning back to talk to his agent representative Andy Shiffman and waiting, and waiting and waiting for his name to be called.
“It was unbelievable, I was thinking about the exact moment my name would be called, the reaction and the type of emotions that I would go through,” Kevin Huerter said. “I’m still shaking right now, when it happened I was shaking I was like ‘Oh, my god.’
“It’s an incredible feeling, I’m so happy that this is over with and I’m ready to be a Hawk.”
There were anxious moments during the broadcast, early on when the New York Knicks announced that they selected Kentucky’s Kevin Knox with the No. 9 pick.
Then the trades within the draft started to occur, causing more speculation within the crowd and in the shooting guards mind and everyone at the Edison Club were focused when the San Antonio Spurs selection came up at No. 18, a spot Huerter owned in numerous mock drafts.
“Andy (Shiffman) was there, he tapped me on the back, he wouldn’t tell me the exact pick, he just tapped me on my back when it was going to be close,” Huerter said. “So he tapped me before the San Antonio pick, so I didn’t think it would be that one, but I was never sure. So after San Antonio went I knew it was a good chance it was going to be them (Atlanta).”
There was a sigh of relief over the former Shenendehowa star and Mr. New York Basketball 2016 selection and former Maryland Terrapin.
“It’s an unbelievable feeling, I’m so happy that I’m here to be honest,” Huerter said. “I’m glad I made the decision to stay around, all these people that came out and the way that it kind of unfolded, we all sat down and say 10 or 12 picks together and every single pick you can feel the emotion of people behind me waiting for my name to get called and when it finally did it was incredible.”
Much of the stress for Huerter was giving his future to NBA executives in offices across the nation that analyzed him at the NBA Combine and are willing to invest millions of dollars into the local talent.
“I got to choose when I went to Maryland, I knew where I was going and I sat here for 19 picks and every single one I really didn’t know if my name would be called,” Huerter said. “The energy and every single pick that went by you’re just on the edge of your seat waiting for your name to be called. It was a lot different from when I went to Maryland, but I’m just as excited to do this as I was to go there.”
With his parents, brother and two sisters in the front row, his two former coaches, Shenendehowa’s Tony Dzikas along with Maryland head coach Mark Turgeon were also on hand for support and congratulations, along with Terrapin Director of Basketball Operations Mark Bialkoski.
“When I picked a college, when I went to Shen the coaches were a big reason why I went there,” Huerter said. “Their support, the way they pushed me and for both of them to be here was amazing, but I knew they would be here, there was never a doubt that one of them wouldn’t be able to make it and I’m glad we got to share the moment together.”
With a few seconds to let it sink in, a sigh and then standing up with a huge smile Huerter first hugged his mom, Erin and then his father, Tom Huerter, Sr. and then his brother and two sisters.
“It meant a lot and again, both of them are so strong that they are very few times have I seen either one of them breakdown, or be really emotional,” Kevin Huerter said. “They are two people that I look up to tremendously and I wanted to have them be here for that, they mean the world to me.”