Austin's Power

In October 1997, in the first minute of his first exhibition game as a Pacers forward, Austin Croshere drew a charge and landed hard on his left hand. Seconds later he drew another foul, then underwent a quick examination by the Indiana trainer. The hand was broken. "Welcome to the NBA," said Larry Bird, who was experiencing his first moments as the Pacers' coach. "Now go make your free throws."

After leading Providence to the Elite Eight as a senior, the 6'9" Croshere (CROW-zher) was taken 12th by Indiana, becoming Bird's first draft pick. But their relationship seemed doomed to fail. At the end of Croshere's rookie year he broke his left foot during warmups. Last season he was injury-free but his hopes of winning Bird's confidence in training camp were dashed by the lockout. He was a young player out of place on a veteran, contending team. After appearing in only 53 games in two seasons, Croshere respectfully asked the Pacers to play him or trade him. "I was looking at being out of the league if I didn't get a chance," he says.

Croshere was offered with Travis Best to the Clippers for Lorenzen Wright last summer, but that deal fell through—luckily for Indiana. Instead, on draft day the Pacers dealt backup center and power forward Antonio Davis to the Raptors for 6'11" Jonathan Bender, an 18-year-old project. The Pacers had slotted Croshere as a reserve small forward, but now they needed to replace Davis in the rotation. Croshere was given a chance to win that job.

Toward that end he devised a new summer school curriculum: Power Forward 101. At 7 a.m. Croshere, a Los Angeles native, would train at UCLA with a track coach, "to work on lengthening my stride," he says. At 8:30 he would meet former NBA gunner Kiki Vandeweghe at a UCLA gym for a basketball workout. He would eat his second meal before lifting weights in the afternoon with a personal strength coach. At 4 p.m. he trained with a master in hopkido. "I did that for the mental discipline," Croshere says. He showed up at camp this season 20 pounds heavier, a) 242. He won the job.

Croshere has added energy and athleticism to a team that had been gasping for both. His averages through Sunday—10.3 points and 6.4 rebounds in 22.9 minutes per game—compare favorably with Davis's numbers in 1998-99, though Croshere lacks Davis's burly defensive presence down low. Still, Croshere, 25, sees his NBA future at power forward. "I think I can get bigger without sacrificing my quickness," he says.

Croshere is one of six free agents the Pacers will either re-sign or lose this summer—after replacing Bird, who's retiring after the playoffs. Wherever Croshere lands, Bird thinks his skills are best suited to small forward, based on games like Indiana's 111-102 win over the visiting Rockets last Friday. Croshere nailed two three-pointers and a spectacular reverse dunk while equaling his career highs in points (22), rebounds (13) and assists (three). "He needs to develop that intermediate-range jumper, a little hook shot," Bird says. "He'll figure it out because he works so hard. I guarantee you, in two to three years he's going to be a great pro."