Two games into his NBA career, Dan Dickau sent a message to the 21 teams that passed over him on draft day. With 2.9 seconds left in the third quarter of a Hawks-Nets game in Shaw's Pro Summer League in Boston, he set a hard pick on Richard Jefferson. Seconds later, both were on the deck in a rare summer league scuffle.

	Gotta love the hair.

Jefferson called Dickau dirty. Dickau brushed off the incident, but his summer league coach, Hawks assistant Eric Musselman, made sure the point wasn't lost: "Dan's tough. Your reputation in this league is often born here."

Dickau's rep needs a face-lift. His free fall through the first round -- he was taken last by Sacramento and traded to Atlanta -- was a result of questions about his toughness, ballhandling and defense. But the Hawks, desperate for a PG, think they have their man. "We always liked his game," says GM Pete Babcock. "His shooting and floor leadership are things we need."

Some who watched Dickau get lit up by Jason Hart and Anthony Goldwire in the Shaw league think Babcock's dead wrong. "I don't think he's going to make it in the league," one team executive says. "He's too slow and lacks the athleticism to get his shot off."

Guess that's why they play games -- to find out.

This article appears in the August 5 issue of ESPN The Magazine.