A year ago at this time, Andre Iguodala was just starting his second preseason at the University of Arizona. While Wildcat basketball in the Pac-10 under legendary coach Lute Olsen isn’t small potatoes in any way, today Iguodala finds himself in a whole different world.

Adjusting to the style of play in the NBA can be a difficult challenge for any player, and the 20-year-old Illinois native has been tackling that challenge over the past two weeks. It all began with training camp at Duke University, something that had Iguodala guessing as to what was going to happen.

“I’ve never been through anything like that before,” he said. “But I expected the worst, so just to know that if it was that bad, then I expected the worst. Just go in and work hard.”

The camp ended with Iguodala’s first NBA game action in the Sixers’ 114-107 preseason-opening win over Washington. He got his feet wet with 11 minutes of action, and although his only scoring contribution was one free throw, he earned the praises of head coach Jim O’Brien.

“I made a decision late in the game when we were up two, I think, to put the ball in his hands, and he did something very positive with it,” O’Brien said. “If I were dealing with somebody who wasn’t ready to make a big play at the end of the game, I wouldn’t have called his number.”

Over the course of the evening, Iguodala quickly figured out some things he wanted to improve upon.

“It took me a little bit to get adjusted and get comfortable out there,” Iguodala said. “I think I want to try to get involved a little earlier so I can get in and try to make something happen. Next time I go out there, I’ll have a little more confidence and just try to get more comfortable.”

Iguodala appears to have accomplished that over the weekend, making increased contributions in each of the Sixers’ wins over Toronto. He went 4-for-4 from the field for eight points in 19 minutes of action in the team’s 99-97 win on Friday. O’Brien inserted Iguodala into the starting lineup on Sunday and ended up giving the rookie 28 minutes on the floor, more than any other player except Wilie Green. Iguodala responded with eight points and five assists on the afternoon.

So far this preseason, O’Brien has seen a sense of confidence in Iguodala, as well as the skills that led the Sixers to select him ninth overall in the 2004 NBA Draft.

“I didn’t find there to be one bit of nervousness on his part,” O’Brien said. "It never even crossed my mind until somebody brought it up to me the other day. I can assure everybody here, when he gets the ball in his hands, he knows what to do with it.”

And for Iguodala himself, that transition from college to the pros is going well so far.

“I think I feel comfortable with everyone,” Iguodala said. “Just because I haven’t been here as long with everyone – some players have been here for seven years, some four, some three, and I’ve only been here a couple weeks – everyone’s the same.”