Grant Hill doesn't want to be known as "That nice kid from Duke" anymore.
Tired of people interpreting his niceness as weakness, Hill is trying to be more assertive."There's an edge to Grant this year," Detroit coach Doug Collins said. "He is more testy, and I like that. He has a whole different persona. He knows he's great now. He's more vocal during practice and games, unafraid to approach and say things to veterans like Otis Thorpe and Joe Dumars. He has even developed a pretty nasty tongue - in fact, he is one of the best trash talkers on the team."
"I'm going to start calling him Charles Barkley," Dumars said.
Apparently, the catalyst for this change of approach was his Dream Team experience. Hill was disgusted with the Olympians' poor work habits and lack of respect for the games.
"A lot of negative stuff was written about our attitude and how we conducted ourselves, and almost everything that was written was accurate," he said. "At times I felt like I was the most mature guy there.
"Every last one of the guys on the Dream Team felt they were the best player in the world," he said. "I came away from that more grown up, with less respect for them as players and as people."
(Editor's Note: What exactly has Grant Hill done so far? He hasn't led the league in anything, set any records, won any titles. He's been the best player on a poor-to-mediocre team for all of two seasons. Give me a break.)
BRADLEY BASHING: New Nets coach John Calipari is disappointed with center Shawn Bradley, especially after a stretch of four exhibition games in which he made five of 32 shots.
After a game against Orlando, Calipari said, "Shawn was (bleeping) non-existent, and I told him, 'Hey, that was embarrassing play.' "I told him in front of the team. I said, 'You blocked shots and you did some decent rebounding, but you were awful offensively. It can't be that way. Forget about fadeaways, attack the rim and get fouled.' "
Jazz players also noticed Bradley's tendency to shy away from the middle in their exhibition game last week.
"I think he gets too caught up in doing up and unders, finesse stuff," said Jazz center Greg Foster. "He just needs to work on a couple basic moves, a hook shot or turnaround. If I was him, I'd take a look at the way (Washington center) Gheorghe Muresan plays."
SHOWBOAT BRYANT: The Lakers are concerned about youngster Kobe Bryant's penchant for high-altitude falls.
He broke his wrist during the offseason when he landed on it while playing in a pickup game - on a cement court - at Venice Beach.
Then, a week ago Friday, he tried to avoid a midair collision with Philly center Tim Kempton and ended up landing flat on his back. That caused him to miss a couple of games.
Based on those incidents, Laker coaches are urging him to pull up for jumpers or learn how to take contact.
"That's the danger of the elevated game," Laker coach Del Harris said. "Normally, as you play in the league a little bit longer, you learn to be a little more selective in traffic. Michael Jordan really selects his times now to leave the floor. Dr. J is another guy who late in his career decided it was a little safer playing near the wood. You can't take it away (from Bryant). You can't do that. But you have to be selective."
Bryant's teammates, meanwhile, have dubbed the kid "Showboat."
Asked why, Shaquille O'Neal told of how Lakers would see Bryant mimicking moves and practicing head fakes during training-camp lectures, when Harris wasn't looking.
"He's been playing one-on-one against somebody," forward Corie Blount said. "We just haven't figured out who that person is."