"OK, Jay. Let's see the crossover dribble. Look right over here. Great! Now, we need you to take some jump shots from the side of the free throw line. Perfect. Just a few more. OK. Now, hit me with a pass right here ..."

Photo galleries: Behind the scenes Making of a trading card Trading card poses

Williams wasn't receiving instruction from any of the Bulls' coaches on the nuances of the complex Triangle Offense. Instead, the No. 2 overall pick of the 2002 NBA Draft was following the direction of a non coach, yet someone who also has a vested interest in the Duke All-American as well as the other members of the rookie class.

"I enjoy this a lot," said Mike Pizzimenti, Brand Manager for Topps Trading Cards, who oversaw one of the company's four photography stations on Saturday morning. "It's a good opportunity to get face to face with a lot of the players and let them know who you are."

As the No. 2 pick in the draft, Jay Williams found himself perched on a pedestal. NBAE/Getty Images

Topps, along with Fleer and Upper Deck descended upon St. Peter's Prep High School in Jersey City, N.J., this past weekend to shoot an assortment of action and portrait photographs of the NBA rookies for the 2002-03 trading card sets. The players flew in from all over the United States to have their lifelong dream fulfilled.

"It's a big thrill," said Miami Heat guard Caron Butler, in between visits to one of the four Fleer stations. "You never in a million years thought that one day someone would be going out purchasing your cards and open up a box with your face on it, checking out your stats and hobbies. It's ridiculous."

Every one of the 35 players who attended the two-day session with the card companies was giddy with the realization that his likeness would soon be featured on a trading card. A lot of the players even cherish the cards they collected as kids.

"I still have some of Isiah's cards and Magic's cards," said Williams, rookie spokesperson for Upper Deck. "When you're young, you're always the guy collecting the cards. Now it's kind of weird how things are reversed. You never think of yourself actually being featured on a card, to actually be on that level. It's really a great honor."

Saturday morning featured the Topps session, which ran from 9:30 to 12:45. The Memorial Gymnasium at St. Peter's Prep was transformed into one gigantic photographer's studio. Sixteen-foot black curtains, strewn throughout the gymnasium, served as giant walls separating each photography station. Strobe lights, giant reflector shields and Octabank Lights peppered each station while giant fans worked overtime to keep the players cool from the sweltering 92-degree heat outside the gym doors.

With the music of Ja Rule, Jennifer Lopez and Nelly echoing in the background, players walked to each one of the four Topps stations where they had their photographs taken. One station featured bleachers, where Dajuan Wagner of the Cleveland Cavaliers could be seen smiling for his portrait shoot. Stroll 10 feet to the left and one could find Marcus Haislip of the Milwaukee Bucks throwing down windmill dunks for a photographer at one of the two action stations. The last stop for the players was the interview station, where the rookies were asked biographical questions to be used for the cards.

"We have three different copywriters here that write the card backs," said Pizzimenti. "They all have their tape recorders, that way they can send the information to the other writers that also write our card backs."

Saturday afternoon belonged to NBA Entertainment Photos, which had five different photography stations set up for each of the rookies, including one outside on the blacktop court.

European star Nikoloz Tskitishvili enjoyed his introduction to American trading cards. Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE/Getty Images

"This provides us with a tremendous opportunity to photograph the majority of the rookies, all of whom are wearing their NBA team uniforms for the very first time, in one location," said Joe Amati, Director of NBAE Photos, who also oversees the coordination of the weekend's events. "The photographs taken from these sessions gives us great inventory for our team magazines as well as any other sports consumer magazines or web sites looking to feature some of the rookies."

The NBAE video crew was also on hand, conducting interviews as well as taping Inside Stuff promos with the players.

Sunday featured Fleer and Upper Deck sessions in which the players were split into two groups, A and B, and made the rounds at the various stations from 8:30 to 2:30.

Some of the highlights of the Fleer stations included outdoor portrait shots featuring the players standing under a hoop and against a brick wall to give the cards an urban feel.

"I give these guys all the credit in the world," said Mike Shtino, Fleer Product Manager. "It's very hot outside. As soon as they're out in front of the camera, they've got their smiles on and are really into it."

Upper Deck featured six stations, including a memorabilia location. There, players who have autograph deals with Upper Deck, signed for future cards and products while others were wide eyed checking out the merchandise.

"We've had some product that we've done in the past just to show the players what the cards look like," said Joe Soehn, who serves as the Sports Lead for Upper Deck's Basketball Product Development. "They've been opening packs and are excited to see some of the players they've been following growing up.

"Nikoloz Tskitishvili of the Denver Nuggets saw a Kobe Bryant-Kevin Garnett Floor Card where we have actual pieces of the game floor on the card. He was like, 'Wow, these are my two players right here.' It's cool to see the players embrace the process and what it means for the fans."

Another byproduct of the weekend sessions that was clearly evident was the camaraderie that developed among all of the players that waited their turn at each of the stations. Players could be seen ribbing each other over hairstyles, poses and simply bad musical impersonations.

"It feels good," said Drew Gooden, the No. 4 overall pick of the Memphis Grizzlies. "I played against these guys in high school, in college and going to a lot of All-Star Games, AAU trips -- you get to know these guys. It's funny, it's like a developmental stage, every four years we're at a whole another level and we get to see who makes it. I got some guys who are good friends and it feels good to be closer as one this weekend."