There would be the occasional outside jumper, but XU coaches wanted him - or rather, needed him - inside.

As he begins the second season of his professional basketball career, the New Orleans Hornets forward is reinventing his game, because his team needs him to and his career depends on it. Still an aggressive rebounder, West used the offseason to develop perimeter ball-handling and shooting skills.

"I've got to be a threat when I'm on the floor," said the 6-foot-9 West, who averaged 13.1 minutes and 3.8 points last season. During the preseason, he has played an average of 22.8 minutes a game, scoring 8.6 points. "I've got to make sure when I'm out there, I'm making positive plays. You've got to be able to stretch defenses and make open shots. That's the biggest thing I learned last year. You've got to knock 'em down."

Hornets coach Byron Scott had seen some of West's game footage at Xavier when Scott was coaching the New Jersey Nets. He wondered then if West would be able to adapt his game to the NBA demands that require a player to be skilled in several facets. Since Scott was hired by the Hornets in May, he has become encouraged by what he has seen from West, who Scott said will back up forward P.J. Brown this season.

"Now seeing him every day, he has very good basketball skills," Scott said. "He can shoot and handle the ball, and he rebounds the heck out of the basketball. He's very unselfish, but for the position he's playing, I need him to score a little more."

That's something West heard plenty from his veteran teammates last season, which West described as being a constant learning experience. Now having grown accustomed to the nuances of traveling throughout an 82-game regular-season schedule and maintaining proper health, West said he expects an easier, more enjoyable second season.

He explained life in the NBA to former Xavier teammate Lionel Chalmers last week when Chalmers' Los Angeles Clippers played an exhibition game against New Orleans.

"I went up to his hotel room, and I realized that some of the things that were new to me last year are new to him this year," West said. "I told him, 'It's a long ride. Be prepared for ups and downs.' "

The teams play again tonight in Los Angeles. The Hornets won the first game 105-95, but West and Chalmers got to play directly against each other when a couple pick-and-roll plays left West guarding the 6-foot Chalmers.

"Four years together at Xavier, I never got an opportunity to play against him," West said. "I didn't realize his arms were so long. Being opponents, that was crazy."

E-mail ddow@enquirer.com

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