Growing pains for this 'Baby'

ROME - Glen Davis was a McDonald's All-American in high school, a second-team All-America selection who played in the Final Four for Louisiana State, and is widely known as "Big Baby." But with the Celtics at training camp in Italy, he's just a rookie trying to figure out life in the NBA.

"When we first got here, it was, 'First team . . . Second team . . . ' I didn't hear my name," said Glen Davis after the Celtics' practice yesterday morning at the Palafonte. "I was like, 'Third team?' I was like, 'C'mon, man.' [I've] got to play through it and not worry about it."

Glen Davis was 10th all-time in scoring for a storied LSU program and was arguably the most colorful player in college basketball the past couple of years because of his nickname, his 6-foot-9-inch, 289-pound stature, and his charismatic quotes. The Celtics also have three other rookies in Gabe Pruitt, Brandon Wallace, and Jackie Manual. But Pruitt and Wallace weren't household college names like Glen Davis, and Manual played in the NBA's Development League last season.

"[Glen Davis] is known everywhere," Pruitt said. "We can go out in Boston or anywhere we go everyone knows who he is. He's just the guy that stands out. They say, 'Oh yeah, that's Gabe Pruitt.' But they also say, 'Hey, that's Big Baby.' His presence from what he has done really stands out."

All Big Baby's accolades carried little weight when the NBA draft arrived. Glen Davis was selected in the second round, with the 35th overall pick, by Seattle. On the same night, he was far from the marquee name in a trade that sent him and six-time NBA All-Star Ray Allen from Seattle to the Celtics for Wally Szczerbiak, Delonte West, and the draft rights to Jeff Green.

Glen Davis showed promise by averaging 12 points and 9.8 rebounds in summer league play. But now the Baton Rouge, La., native is just trying to crack the second team and feeling "tremendously humbled." He added he has turned into a "businessman and a grown up" on the court.

"I was a starter since forever," Glen Davis said. "You achieve over and above when you are in high school. Then you get to college and you still do OK. And then you grow and then you still dominate and still put up big numbers. And then you get here and there's just nothing of that.

"Nothing that happened even matters. It's all out the door. You start from scratch. You're put on the third team. It's hard to get in the [first- or second-team] rotation, hard to get in a rhythm. You've got to stay focused. You've got to play a mind game with yourself. You know what you possess. You can't mentally figure it's gone."

Celtics coach Doc Rivers can relate to Glen Davis's challenge to mentally adjust from college to the NBA.

The ex-Marquette star was "humbled" when several point guards were selected before he was taken by Atlanta in the second round with the 31st pick of the 1984 draft. The 1988 NBA All-Star went on to have a distinguished pro career, playing 13 seasons and nearly reaching the 10,000-point mark.

"It was the best thing that happened to me in my basketball life, not being drafted higher," Rivers said. "It made me hungry."

When asked if Glen Davis was humbled, Rivers said: "I hope. I don't know sometimes. I'm not sure. I just think he will be. He's a happy go-lucky guy, which is good. But he has to keep working, keep working hard. I think he sees from playing in the gym with these guys that he still has some work to do."

Making it even tougher for Glen Davis is rookie initiation. While in Italy, he has met the veterans' challenge of eating "a lot" of boiled octopus, which he says was nothing like calamari.

"I had to do it," Glen Davis said. "You got KG [Kevin Garnett], you got Paul Pierce saying, 'Eat it.' "

Pruitt missed his second practice with a sprained right ankle that was upgraded to mild, but he hopes to return tomorrow. Center Scot Pollard has missed all three practices with a sprained left ankle, and it's uncertain when he'll practice. Tony Allen, who is coming off knee surgery, did not participate in the night session but is expected back on court today.

While Rajon Rondo, Eddie House, Allen, and Pruitt are the point guards, Rivers said he is "scared" about how his team would adapt if there is an injury at the position this season. Without Pruitt, the Celtics even used Ray Allen at point guard in practice.

"With Gabe being out, it just shows how thin we are at the position," the coach said. "People talk about the point guard spot and talk about Rajon [as the starter]. Rajon's going to be fine. If he gets in foul trouble, or the other guys can't go, then we're thin."

The Celtics' evening practice was at the PalaLottomatica, where Saturday's exhibition opener against Toronto will be played. When asked about yesterday morning's practice, Rivers said: "[It] was the typical third or fourth day, where you're pretty much tired. But I thought they competed. The energy has been off the charts. The execution has been way behind. That's fine. We'll get that together."