Sixers eager to start anew under Collins

The word "culture" was said only once on Monday, but it was used by 76ers guard Lou Williams, a guy whose words usually reflect the team's attitude.

"Any coach who comes in here talking about discipline, getting us to win, changing our culture, and getting us on the same page, I'm all for it," said Williams, referring to the team's new coach, Doug Collins.

Collins was hired about a month after the Sixers - directionless and floundering - finished the 2009-10 season with a record of 27-55.

On Monday at the Wells Fargo Center, the Sixers held their annual Media Day; on Tuesday, the team opens training camp at St. Joseph's University with two-a-day practices.

Tuesday's morning session will be the Sixers' first practice of the 2010-11 season.

Williams' words seemed to be mirrored not only in his teammates' demeanor and statements, but also in their actions: On Monday morning, the team gathered at St. Joe's track for a test mile.

"It was initiated by the coaching staff, but the players sort of took control of it," Williams explained. "It was like a scene out of Remember the Titans. We were running in the rain. Everybody made their times so we were excited about it."

When Thaddeus Young was asked if his time of 5 minutes, 26 seconds was the team's fastest, he said, "Oh, no, not even close. Evan Turner ran it in 5:04." Williams said power forward Elton Brand, who's lost weight and reported to camp below 255 pounds, struggled in a practice mile three weeks ago, but nailed his goal time on Monday.

"There's no blaming the coaches this year," Brand said. "We have a great coach and it's on us players. We take responsibility to get us where we need to be . . . guys have been working hard to turn this thing around. A lot of other teams got better, but we've also gotten better." The Sixers enter camp with plenty of new faces, including center Spencer Hawes, forward Andres Nocioni, power forward Darius Songaila, and rookies Craig Brackins and Turner.

Brand has trimmed down, Young has added strength, Holiday has added confidence, and swingman Andre Iguodala just won a gold medal.

"When you lose, things get magnified," Iguodala said of last season. "Just looking to attack the basket, get to the line, play freely. I'm not hung up on the three-pointer thing. I need to take less, but not really hung up on it too much." Iguodala, who is only weeks removed from winning the World Championships with USA Basketball, will get a lot of rest time during this week's camp.

"I feel OK right now," Iguodala said. "I can understand how some guys need a little bit of time. It's a quick turnaround. I thought it would be a bit longer, but it came faster than I wanted it to.

"I think I'm going to try to play Ed Stefanski for training camp," Iguodala joked. "Just watch from afar and just really learn the guys."

Want more from Sixers' Media Day? Check out Kate Fagan's stand-up, plus her blog and a video of Brand and Iguodala's news conferences on

Deep Sixer, at http://www.philly.com/

philly/blogs/deep-sixer/.

Catch her tweets, too,

at DeepSixer3.EndText