Here’s a reason to root for the lowly Atlanta Hawks basketball team: Former Woodrow all-star (and member of the school’s Hall of Fame) Alton Lister has been named an assistant coach "with an emphasis on the team’s big men," according to a Hawks press release.

After leaving Woodrow, where he was named an All-American, Lister attended San Jacinto Junior College and was taken in the first round of the 1981 draft by the Milwaukee Bucks. (He was also a member of the ill-fated 1980 Olympic team that never made it to Moscow because of the U.S. boycott.) In all, the 7-foot center played for five NBA teams over 16 seasons, but never with the Mavs.

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The Hawks make one appearance against the Mavs at AAC this year, a noon game on Dec. 29, if you want to welcome Lister back to his hometown.