Last night we had a team dinner and Darrell Armstrong called me and the other rookies up to sing happy birthday to Grant Hill (Hill turns 30 Oct. 5). We did it Temptations-style. I knew I would have to do it, so I just enjoyed it, instead of taking it personally. It’s something everyone has had to do as a rookie. You have to do it, so you might as well make it fun and we did.

As a rookie, you have to learn how to handle criticism. When the coaches or other players get on you , it’s important to realize they have a purpose and a point. They (coaches, veteran players) are not in it to degrade me. They are trying to make me better. Everyone out there talking to me knows it’s a different game from college to the pros and I’m trying to make the adjustment. If they didn’t care, they wouldn’t pull me to the side and make a point. My father coached me a long time and he always said, “When I stop talking to you, then you should worry.”

Coach Mark Hughes has really been helping me. He knows I’m young and I’m learning, and so he’s taking the time to teach me the different positions I need to be in on the floor. I would say that part of the game is more mentally draining, then physically. It’s important to learn so you can just react, instead of thinking and then reacting.

Practice today was intense. The score of the final scrimmage was 19-18 (we lost) and the two teams were really going at it and you just wanted to contribute.

We ended practice with a free throw drill where we had to make 10 in a row as a team. The blue team was down there a little bit, but we finally got it done.