Goodwin, Suns giddy about pick

Archie Goodwin (second from left) was introduced by the Phoenix Suns on Friday by President of Basketball Operations Lon Babby (left), General Manager Ryan McDonough and Coach Jeff Hornacek. Goodwin played at Sylvan Hills before spending one season at Kentucky.
Archie Goodwin (second from left) was introduced by the Phoenix Suns on Friday by President of Basketball Operations Lon Babby (left), General Manager Ryan McDonough and Coach Jeff Hornacek. Goodwin played at Sylvan Hills before spending one season at Kentucky.

Little more than a year ago, Archie Goodwin had been named the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s Mr. Basketball for the second time after his senior season at Sylvan Hills High School.

Now Goodwin is an NBA player with the Phoenix Suns.

“I don’t know if it’s quite hit me that I’m actually living out my dream, just because I’m so focused on what I’m ready to do,” Goodwin said Friday during his introductory news conference in Phoenix. “But I’m pretty sure I’ll have that moment soon.”

The Suns traded up a spot to get Goodwin, a 6-5 guard who played at Kentucky this season, with the 29th pick in the first round of Thursday night’s NBA Draft.

“We had Archie rated significantly higher than where he got picked, and there was a significant drop-off between him and the next player who was on our list,” Phoenix General Manager Ryan McDonough said. “We frankly didn’t think he’d be there for us when we were picking at the very end of the first round, so we were trying like heck to get up higher to take him.

“We didn’t want to mess around and run the risk that he wouldn’t be there when we were picking. We tried to get up higher than we did.”

The Suns made a trade with Golden State for the 29th pick - which the Warriors acquired in a trade with Oklahoma City - totake Goodwin.

“Right after we got him, my phone started blowing up with a lot of texts and calls from other teams around the league saying, ‘Darn it, that was our guy,’ ” McDonough said. “We’re thrilled to have him here.”

Goodwin, 18, was the second-youngest player drafted after Giannis Antetokounmpo, a forward from Greece who was picked 15th by the Milwaukee Bucks. Goodwin turns 19 in August, while Antetokounmpo turns 19 in December.

“I’m very fortunate and blessed to be here, and I want to thank my family for being behind me and supporting me through everything,” Goodwin said. “It’s been a long journey so far. Just being 18, that may sound crazy, but it’s been a long journey to get here with all the things I’ve had to go through. But those guys have had my back the whole time.”

Goodwin was the only Kentucky player to start all 33 games this season and he averaged a team-high 14.1 points along with 4.6 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.1 steals. He also shot 26.6 percent on three point attempts (17 of 64) and was 7 of 38 against SEC teams.

“I’ve been working on my shot a lot, and it’s getting better and I’m a lot more confident in it than I was during the season,” Goodwin said. “I just need to continue to stay in the gym and work on it, continue to find my rhythm, and continue to build my confidence, and I think it will take me a long way.”

Suns Coach Jeff Hornacek, who shot 40.3 percent on three-point attempts in his 14 seasons as an NBA player, said he is confident Goodwin will improve as a shooter.

“The thing you find with a lot of guys, you can go in the gym and shoot 500 shots, but if you don’t do it at a fast pace - a game-type shot - you’re wasting your time,” Hornacek said. “Archie has shown us he’s going to go through those drills hard, and that’s going to make him better.”

The Suns plan to convert Goodwin into a point guard.

“I feel like I have the athletic tools to really set me apart from guys,” Goodwin said. “I’m 6-5 and I have a 6-10 wingspan. A lot of point guards in the league don’t have that.

“I would say right now my strengths would be attacking the rim and being aggressive, and my competitive edge really sets me apart. I have a lot of room to grow. … I can get a lot stronger, I can get a lot more consistent in shooting, just getting a higher IQ for the game.

“There are a lot of things I have to work on. That’s why I’m going to get started right away, as soon as possible.”

The Suns had Goodwin come to Phoenix twice for workouts.

“We just like everything about him as a player and as a person,” McDonough said. “We feel like he’s a guy that has special potential. When he came and visited us, we were very impressed with him and his maturity and his work ethic.”

Hornacek, 50, said it’s difficult to believe Goodwin is so young.

“I’m still there going, ‘Man, I thought I was a young guy,’ but my youngest kid is older than Archie is, so I’m scratching my head on that one,” Hornacek said. “He’s got a bright future. He can do a lot of things for us, especially in the open game that we want to run.”

The Suns, who had the Western Conference’s worst record this season at 25-57, added Maryland 7-1 center Alex Len with the No. 5 overall pick, Goodwin and Missouri forward Alex Oriakhi with the 57th pick.

Goodwin said it was “a sigh of relief” to be drafted, especially by Phoenix in the first round.

“This is the team I wanted to play for,” he said. “I feel really comfortable here.”

Goodwin said the highlight of the draft was his family’s reaction.

“Just seeing my family really happy made me happy,” he said. “Just being around them to cherish that moment really meant a lot to me.”

Sports, Pages 21 on 06/30/2013

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