Ex-USF player continues to quiet critics with his play as a starter for the Pistons.
By JOEY JOHNSTON
Tribune Staff Writer
(c) Tampa Bay Times. Originally published April 24, 2002.
Ex-USF player Chucky Atkins continues to quiet critics with his play as a starter for the Pistons.
Chucky Atkins doesn’t bother tuning out his skeptics.
If anything, he pumps up the volume. Bring on the doubters. In fact, give them front-row seats.
After all, where would Atkins be without them?
“Keep on talking,” he said. “I’ve heard it my whole life.”
Too short for the NBA? He buries another 3-pointer from the corner. Too frail? He blows past another defender. Not good enough? No response needed.
“If you can play, the players and coaches know,” he said. “If you can’t, you won’t be here for long.”
Atkins, perhaps the most notable success story in the history of University of South Florida basketball, starts at point guard for the Detroit Pistons. Tonight, the Pistons can take a 2-0 lead against Toronto in their Eastern Conference playoff series.
It wouldn’t be a stretch for Detroit, the East’s No. 2-seeded team, to make the NBA Finals. Then Chucky’s revenge can be seen from coast to coast.
Revenge? He doesn’t think so. Chucky’s just playing ball, like always. Sure, it’s a larger stage. But it’s still playing ball.
Just like at Orlando Evans High. Just like at USF. Just like those crazy nights in the CBA. And just like his two seasons in Croatia. That’s where he saw, heard and smelled the military presence, the police escorts and the inside of a war-torn region.
The ball kept bouncing. And he kept pushing. Now look at Chucky. He’s playing out a six-year, $20 million contract. He’s averaging 12 points per game. He’s living a dream. Sometimes, he peeks over his shoulder. “I can’t forget where I came from,” he said.
Ignored In NBA Draft
For the record, Atkins is 5-foot-11. He weighs about 160 pounds. He doesn’t think those numbers really matter. “But people always write about them,” he said.
When Atkins showed up at USF, some fans thought the coaches were kidding. This kid is our new point guard? He looked 14.
But he started as a freshman, beating out a junior-college transfer, and quickly established fearless scoring ability. By his senior season, Atkins was a top player in Conference USA. He was selected for all-star games. He showed up in mock drafts. He hired an agent. On NBA draft night in 1996, he watched both rounds.
Nothing.
“That feeling will always be inside my heart,” Atkins said. “It was probably the hardest day of my life. It can destroy you. Or you can get stronger. I got stronger.”
He went to Vancouver’s camp, but was cut during training camp. He played for the CBA’s La Crosse Bobcats, making the league’s all-rookie team. Then, still fearless, he chased an overseas opportunity in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia. Friends said he was crazy. Maybe the bombs weren’t falling as much, but it still felt like war.
Atkins was the only American on a team of Croatians. He stood idly by while the coach gave instructions in Croatian, before telling the play in English to Atkins. He remembers a road trip to Yugoslavia, when rival fans shouted the players would “never make it home alive.” They lit things on fire and threw bricks at the bus.
“You have no idea how good we have it in America,” Atkins said.
Suddenly, the NBA didn’t look so daunting.
Finally, in the 1999-2000 season, Chucky Atkins finally got his big shot. With his hometown Orlando Magic. No big deal. After all, he had been playing pickup ball with Shaq, Penny and other Magic regulars for years.
The running joke was Atkins kept coming back to the Magic’s practice facility so much, the team finally had to sign him. He was a perfect fit for Orlando’s no-name, low-budget plan.
Traded For Grant Hill
Atkins was an NBA second-team all-rookie pick, but Orlando wasn’t willing to invest in his future, at least not like others. Atkins and an obscure post player named Ben Wallace were part of a sign-and-trade deal with Detroit that sent free-agent megaprize Grant Hill to Orlando.
How’d that work out, anyway?
Atkins resists the urge to gloat. He’s starting. Wallace, the NBA’s defensive player of the year, has become a monster (19 points, 20 rebounds in Game 1 against Toronto). Hill can’t stay healthy and has contributed next to nothing in two seasons with the Magic.
“It’s unfortunate what has happened with Grant Hill,” said Atkins, 27. “I don’t wish him anything bad. You can’t look back. It’s three professional athletes who did what they thought was right for their families.
“For me, it was strange coming in. I’m the guy traded for Grant Hill. Then they draft [Michigan State point guard] Mateen Cleaves. It was easy to get the feeling, “Hey, they might not like me so much.’ Now I’m hearing the cheers. I think the people are on my side.”
Atkins won’t get complacent. He knows better. Another day, another doubter. But really, after his roundabout journey, would he have it any other way?
