9 Memphis Grizzlies

A native of Mitchell, S. Dak, small forward Mike Miller played his high school games in the Corn Palace, a 3,500-seat amphitheater whose exterior murals are made from 300,000 ears of maize. While the arena is popular with tourists traveling on I-90, it is also a favorite haunt of the local fauna. "Don't get me wrong, it's a cool place," says Miller, "but it seems like there are always birds and rodents eating the outside."

That said, the 6'9" Miller might not deem gym rat a term of endearment. Still, how else to describe Miller, who spent most of the summer wearing a second skin of sweat as he worked out frenetically at Tracy McGrady's place in Orlando and at Rhodes College in Memphis, where the Grizzlies practice? Sometimes logging three practice sessions a day, Miller alternated among shooting all manner of jumpers, working on his ball-handling skills and developing a repertoire of low-post moves. He did take a week off to get married, but even while on his honeymoon in the Bahamas he played pickup at the Atlantis resort. "Once the season starts," says Miller, the 2000-01 Rookie of the Year, "there's not much time to work on your game."

He learned that last season. Traded from Orlando to Memphis in February, Miller had to adjust on the fly to a different system, a different set of teammates and a vastly different coaching style. Miller performed well enough in the first 16 games he played for the Grizzlies to earn a six-year extension for a reported $48 million, but he sat out 14 dates with back spasms. Healthy, if not rested, he harbors high expectations for the new season. "I'm looking to create for my teammates," he says. "We're going to put up a lot of points and, I think, surprise a lot of people."