Some players might get antsy when the boss, particularly one who took over after you came to the team, sits down next to you.

But what Stefanski said was something Carney definitely wanted to hear.

"He told me, 'When I first came in here, I didn't know anything about you,' " Carney said of the GM who came to the team in December with the authority to rebuild in the manner he saw fit. " 'But you proved to me that you belong here. All you have to do is keep taking advantage of your opportunities.' That's what I'm trying to do."

What Stefanski told Carney was the same thing he said Tuesday on Comcast SportsNet's "Daily News Live." He told me the same thing last night.

Of the evaluations Stefanski has made of the Sixers since he replaced Billy King, Carney is the player who represents the biggest change in what Stefanski thought he was and what he has shown to be.

"Rodney, when I got here, I said the jury was out," Stefanski said. "I said, 'I don't know if he's good enough or if he was a NBA basketball player.'

"He was the guy you really

weren't sure of. He was such an up-and-down guy. But he's proven to all of us that he belongs. I have no doubt that he can play in the NBA - that he can be a part of what we're trying to do."

We know about the rapid

development of rookie forward Thaddeus Young and valuable improvement of guard Lou Williams, but Carney is one player who has really benefited from Stefanski's request that coach Maurice Cheeks give the young players more minutes to aid in the evaluation process.

After being stuck on the bench for the first part of the season, Carney has emerged as a contributor off the bench.

Against the Bulls, Carney scored 12 points, sinking four three-pointers. After scoring in double digits just five times in his first 33 games, Carney has scored 10 or more points in 10 of the past 27 and five of the past eight.

After shooting 36.2 percent in his first 36 games, Carney has shot 46.3 percent in his last 23.

"When [Kyle Korver was traded to the Utah Jazz], I knew there was a chance that I could get more minutes," said Carney, who played at the University of Memphis. "I took it upon myself to start practicing my shooting a little more by getting to the gym a little earlier than anyone else.

"I just wanted to take advantage of every opportunity they give me. If I get 5 minutes, and I've got a shot, make it; rebound, go get it; just try to make the best of whatever I do."

Sixers coach Maurice Cheeks said Carney's extra time at practice and his willingness to work on other facets of the game have earned him more minutes.

"We always knew [Carney] was a big-time athlete, but he had to be able to do other things, not just shoot the ball," Cheeks said. "I told him you couldn't just live and die by making shots because shots can come and go.

"His rebounding and being more active defensively has kept him in the game."

Carney, who was drafted by Chicago but acquired by the Sixers along with other considerations in a prearranged trade for Thabo Sefolosha, had an OK rookie season, averaging 6.6 points and shooting 46.4 percent.

But after losing the starting shooting-guard job to Willie Green in training camp, Carney kind of got lost in the shuffle.

"I thought [Carney] had a great training camp," Sixers senior vice president Tony DiLeo said. "When Willie won the job, Rodney didn't get a lot of playing time early.

"To Rodney's credit, he kept working on his game, and now that he's gotten the opportunities, he's making the most of it."

Carney, like all of the Sixers, has blossomed under the direction of point guard Andre Miller and from the decision to go to a fastbreak style of play.

"I've said that if [Carney] wrote the script, it couldn't be better for him the way we are playing now," Stefanski said. "He's quite the athlete, quite the runner and can shoot the basketball. This is perfect for him."

Stefanski isn't afraid to tell Carney or anybody else that. *

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