Somewhere between promising and frustrating, somewhere right around enigmatic, you will find Roshown McLeod's rookie year in the NBA.
In the sometimes backwards world of professional basketball, McLeod is one of the league's oldest rookies at 23 and a player who has actually had to adjust to less, rather than more, media attention.
Toiling in relative obscurity at the end of the Atlanta Hawks' bench, the former Duke star has plenty of time these days to ponder the ups and downs of a rookie season that has been, in a word, unpredictable.
Yet, after a three-month lockout, nagging injuries and a severe bout with the flu, McLeod has proven to those in Atlanta what everyone at Duke already knew: he can handle just about any kind of adversity.
"The shortened season and everything being so compact is tough," McLeod said Friday, as he prepared for a home game against the Orlando Magic, in which he would score two points in just two minutes.
On the other side of the floor, former ACC rival Matt Harpring started and played 29 minutes for the division-leading Magic. McLeod outscored Harpring by an average of six points when the two went head-to-head last year in college.
"Going from a lot of minutes to not so many minutes has been hard, especially because you have to find another way to stay in shape," said McLeod. "It's hard when you're playing three or four nights a week, and traveling on the other nights, to find extra time for conditioning."
The only transfer player ever to compete under Mike Krzyzewski at Duke, McLeod fought an uphill battle just to get to this level, so don't expect him to quit. Were it not for Krzyzewski's unprecedented hospitality, McLeod might have finished his career quietly at St. John's or moved to a smaller program.
Even after sitting out an entire season under NCAA rules, then re-establishing himself at Duke, McLeod had to survive a new challenge from freshman Elton Brand. The rookie bumped the senior from the starting lineup early last season.
But McLeod persevered and, thanks in part to Brand's foot injury, played his way into the first round of the NBA draft. So as he bides his time in Atlanta, McLeod chooses patience over pessimism.
"[When you're] not playing, you start to ask yourself questions like, 'What am I doing wrong? Why am I not playing?'" said McLeod, who averages 4.8 points in 10.5 minutes for the Hawks. "I think I'm just now getting over the hump. I know I can play at this level; I know I can score at this level.
"Once I can be a little more consistent, I'll be okay."
A year ago, McLeod was putting a storybook ending on his collegiate career. His Senior Day farewell, with son Anthony in his arms at midcourt, ranks as one of the more poignant moments in Cameron Indoor Stadium's rich history.
He had gone from cast-off to washed-ashore treasure, the leading scorer on a 32-4 powerhouse team. The Hawks made him the 20th pick in the draft, ahead of former teammate Felipe Lopez, a player who had kept him out of the starting lineup at St. John's.
Then came the lockout, a pompous affair to which the entire sports world turned a deaf ear. Lost in the shuffle was the rookie class of 1998, which had no say in the deliberations that might cost them their debut season.
McLeod never lost hope; after all, he'd handled adversity before. But just when the dust settled and the lockout ended, things took another turn for the worse.
"When I hurt my hamstring, I was considered the starting small forward," McLeod said. "That was right at the end of training camp. I hurt my hamstring pretty badly, and then we signed Grant Long and LaPhonso Ellis."
McLeod moved to the end of the bench and the veterans, Long and Ellis, settled into the playing rotation. McLeod's health improved, and he thought he had caught a break with a late-February injury to Steve Smith.
"I was probably playing my best basketball of the season, and we went on a West Coast road trip," said McLeod, who scored in double figures in three straight road games. "That's when I caught the flu."
He played 12 minutes in the next eight games, and the steady playing time hasn't returned since. The Hawks, second in the Central division at 24-17, are poised to make a playoff run, but McLeod's role remains unclear.
Recent injuries to Ellis and Alan Henderson should push him back into the playing rotation.
"With guys being out, it's definitely going to be more of an opportunity to show that I belong here, that I was worth the draft pick," McLeod said. "This is a great place, and I'd love to be here my whole career, but that's not always the case in this league."
In Hawks coach Lenny Wilkens, McLeod has found a patient mentor who believes in the rookie's talents.
"He's one of the best coaches in the history of the NBA," McLeod said. "Playing for him has just increased my line of playing for great coaches at every level. First Bob Hurley at St. Anthony's [in Jersey City], then I played for Coach K and now Lenny Wilkens."
Nonetheless, after so many setbacks, it's hard to judge McLeod's progress in this miniature version of an NBA season. He's not going to get any All-Rookie Team votes, but he hasn't disappointed when given the opportunity to play.
So what grade would he give his own debut?
"Incomplete," McLeod said after a pause. "So many things have not happened yet. With the flu and injuries, I did not really get a chance to shine yet."
It hasn't all been bad breaks, though, for McLeod. With the shortened season and three or four games per week, there hasn't been much time for rookie hazing.
"That's one thing I'm really happy about," he said with a laugh. "Everyone's so focused on the next game-we have 10 games left and then the playoffs-that nobody hazes me at all. I feel pretty bad for the other guys who have to go through those things."
The Hawks are a veteran team, and well-established players like Smith and Dikembe Mutombo don't feel threatened by rookies. It's a good environment for McLeod to learn in.
Trying to get a word in edgewise with noted motor mouths Mutombo and Long isn't easy, but McLeod found plenty of opportunities to brag as Duke made its run through a historic season. Michigan State grad Steve Smith got an earful during the Final Four.
"There was a lot of trash talking going on, but it was all in fun," said McLeod.
McLeod, who comes from a similar financial background as Duke sophomores Elton Brand and William Avery, had mixed feelings last week as he watched the two declare themselves eligible for the NBA draft.
"It doesn't surprise me," McLeod said of the decisions. "They made what they thought was the right move for them. But with the special team they do have, it would make me wonder why the decision was made so easily.
"It was a matter of how much they love to play college ball. You can go to school at 40 or 50 years old, but you can only play college ball, like the NBA, for a short time."
McLeod hopes his time in the NBA is longer than the two years Brand and Avery spent in Durham. In five years, he said, his goals are to play in the All-Star game and the NBA Finals.
Like his family in New Jersey, those goals seem pretty far away. But if there's one thing McLeod has proven, it's that he can wait.
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