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KCP builds off a strong summer with a standout first week of Pistons camp

What the 6,000 Pistons fans who came to The Palace for Saturday’s first public viewing saw from Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is exactly the guy Stan Van Gundy had seen for the eight practices crammed into the previous four days – confident, assertive, efficient, outstanding.

“Pope has been the best player in camp,” Van Gundy said after the scrimmage.

“He’s made shots at a high rate. He has not turned the ball over. Defensively, he’s been really good,” Van Gundy said Monday, expanding on his observations of Caldwell-Pope, entering his second season as the starter at shooting guard. “He’s in fabulous shape. He’s always had a really good motor and he’s just getting better. He’s in year three. I think he understands the game better. He’s not playing too fast, which he’s had a tendency to do in the past. It just seems like he’s maturing.”

That maturity comes on a few levels. Physically, Caldwell-Pope weighs nearly the same as he did coming out of Georgia as a sophomore two years ago, but he’s much more toned and stronger today. He’s perhaps come even farther mentally, now fully cognizant of the demands of an NBA season.

“It was just about me working in the summer,” he said of his fast start to season three. “I really worked hard on what I needed to work hard on to stay consistent and continue to get stronger, so that built my confidence. It just carried over into training camp and now carrying over into the season.”

Caldwell-Pope worked out Monday through Friday over the off-season under the supervision of his longtime trainer, ex-NBA player Dion Glover, who now serves as a Grand Rapids Drive assistant coach, as well. Ballhandling was a focal point and the improvement has been noticeable, translating from individual drills to five-on-five play.

“I feel more comfortable with the ball and coming off screens and making plays,” he said. “It’s just about working and making that a main point in the summer. It’s helping me through training camp.”

“He hasn’t lost the ball as much,” Van Gundy said. “He spent a lot of time on his ballhandling. He spent a lot of time with Dion Glover in summer and he’s still spending a lot of time, so he is handling the ball better.”

The transformation first became noticeable late last season when Caldwell-Pope began attacking the rim once or twice per game. After a late-season game with an Eastern Conference opponent, one of the assistants on that team told one of his friends on Van Gundy’s staff, “Caldwell-Pope has never attacked our closeouts like that before.”

Now he has a chance to be a long-term answer at shooting guard in the same way Rip Hamilton held down the position for nearly a decade. In stature and in his capacity for endurance – Hamilton prided himself on wearing his defenders down through constant motion – Caldwell-Pope is a worthy heir. Van Gundy said the first week of training camp had taken an obvious toll on everyone’s legs – except Caldwell-Pope’s.

“That’s what I do – I run,” he said. “I’m known for running and I like to run. I take care of my legs. I ice after each and every practice, get treatment, massages, try to take care of my body to stay in top shape.”

If Caldwell-Pope needed any additional motivation over the summer – and he probably didn’t – Van Gundy provided it with what was probably nothing more than an off-the-cuff remark to Grantland’s Zach Lowe in an off-season podcast. Asked about Stanley Johnson’s potential to have an impact, Van Gundy said it was possible that Johnson would start at small forward or shooting guard. That made Caldwell-Pope’s ears perk up.

“It really just motivated me,” he said. “I’ve got to think about the next person trying to take my job, so I’ve got to continue to work hard and prove myself.”

One of the most inexplicable statistical quirks of last season for the Pistons was Caldwell-Pope’s home-road split. At one point, Van Gundy said he was performing like a quality NBA starter at home but like a struggling fringe rotation player on the road. For the season, Caldwell-Pope averaged 15.5 points and shot .445 overall and .394 from the 3-point line at home; 9.9 points, .350 and .280 on the road.

Or maybe it wasn’t so inexplicable, after all. Neither player nor coach offered specifics, but both said they figured out what the problem was and expect it to be solved.

“It made sense to me. I know what it was,” Caldwell-Pope said. “I’ve just got to go about changing my game and keep consistent with what I was doing.”

“I think he understands why and he’ll make some adjustments with that,” Van Gundy said. “I think it’ll be better.”

Getting the guy the Pistons saw for 41 home games over all 82 will go a long way toward making them a more potent and diverse team offensively. It also will solidify Caldwell-Pope’s place alongside that of Reggie Jackson, Andre Drummond and Stanley Johnson as franchise cornerstones.