Zach Randolph went from afterthought to go-to guy in a matter of a week in April. A bench-warmer for most of his second season out of Michigan State, the 6-foot-9, 260-pound wrecking ball led the Blazers to three straight wins over heavily favored Dallas in the first round of the playoffs after he was inserted into Portland's starting lineup. While the Blazers fell short in Game 7, Randolph's averages of 20.5 points and 11 rebounds over the final four games of the series caught everyone's attention.

Randolph impresses with quality, as well as quantity. He shot 51.3 percent on the season, and unlike many American big men, is a solid foul shooter at 74.5 percent for his career. That's important because a post player with his size and skill gets to the charity stripe often; Randolph had 31 attempts in the final four games against Dallas alone.

Perhaps the best part is that Randolph still has considerable room for improvement. He's only 22 years old and is about to get the first major playing time of his career, so as he learns how to deal with NBA defenses, his post game should progress. Additionally, he has a very soft jumper that he had been reluctant to utilize from more than a few feet from the basket. But based on his solid form and strong foul shooting, it's not unreasonable to think he could step out and drain 17-footers with a little practice.

There is one fly in the ointment, however, and it's a familiar one for Portland. Randolph was thought of as having top-10 talent when he left Michigan State after just one season, but lasted until the 19th pick in the 2001 draft because of questions about his character. He gave life to those concerns last season when he slugged teammate Ruben Patterson in a Blazers practice, which was the crowning achievement in a series of off-court misbehavior by the Blazers. Randolph's youth was littered with such incidents, including charges of shoplifting, battery and receiving stolen property before he was old enough to vote, and he was charged with underage drinking in 2002.

Randolph also needs work on his defense and conditioning. His 260 pounds could balloon if he isn't careful about his diet and exercise, and it would be nice if he could add more definition to his frame. Because he's not a great leaper, Randolph also needs to make a more concerted effort to move his feet on defense. Additionally, he'll need to learn how to pass out of double-teams since he's likely to face them on a nightly basis.

But the good still far outweighs the bad. Even with Rasheed Wallace blocking his path at power forward, Randolph has muscled his way into becoming a vital part of the team's plans. And, unlike Wallace, he prefers to battle down low, giving the Blazers a constant presence on the block. With 20-10 potential this season and several years of development ahead of him, Randolph is one of the game's rising stars. But he needs to behave himself, which no Blazer of recent vintage has found easy. Portland's hopes of making the playoffs in the Western Conference minefield depend on it. For that reason, the Pacific Division spotlight is on Zach Randolph.

-- By John Hollinger, SI.com