Woodson Shakes Up Bench Staff

The lineup of faces on the Hawks' bench will change considerably this season as coach Mike Woodson confirmed a staff shakeup that has been in the works for months.

Assistant coaches Herb Brown and Greg Ballard, both members of Woodson's staff since he took over the team three years ago, are moving into different roles in the final year of their contracts. Also, former NBA center Alton Lister joins the staff as an assistant coach with an emphasis on tutoring the Hawks' big men.

Lister, 49, played 16 NBA seasons with Milwaukee, Seattle, Golden State, Boston and Portland. He was drafted in the first round of the 1981 draft by the Bucks. Lister spent the past seven years as the men's basketball coach at Mesa Community College. He's also been a long-time instructor at Pete Newell's Big Man Camp, a must-stop for young big men on their path to the NBA and young centers already in the league.

Lister, a 7-footer who was a member of the 1980 Olympic team that was forced to sit out the Moscow games because of a boycott, was a part of the Hawks summer league coaching staff last month in Utah. That crew was led by Woodson's top assistant, Larry Drew, who will return this season in the same position after almost leaving for the same job in Sacramento. Drew accepted the position with the Kings but wasn't allowed out of the final year of his contract with the Hawks.

Woodson's staff for the season is set with Drew, Bob Bender, David Fizdale and Lister joining him on the bench when training camp opens Oct. 2.

Brown will return in a consultant's role, mainly as a special adviser to Woodson. Ballard, who previously mentored the team's big men, joins the scouting staff.

In other Hawks news, the team has picked up the contract options for Marvin Williams and Shelden Williams for the 2008-09 season.

source : ajc.com