Jordan started each morning with quizzes for his players. Some were discussion-based, others were written. The subjects ranged from offensive plays to the coach's six basic rules for transition defense.

It has been a camp that has stressed attention to detail on and off the court. Mental lapses anywhere simply are not accepted.

"I'm one of those guys who likes the puzzles and likes the challenges and the test part that he gives us each morning," said forward Thaddeus Young. "[Saturday] morning wasn't a test. The question was, 'What part of the offense do you not know?' I was pretty good with it. I was just off on one play, and that was at the back part of the play. I knew the whole part of the play except for that one spot, so I was pretty good."

With all the teaching going on, Jordan is mindful that he must also include the other drills that are crucial in a training camp, such as shooting and conditioning and defense. The latter is something he will never be able to shun, thanks in large part to assistant coach Randy Ayers.

"[After a practice] Randy will say, 'Coach, we didn't do enough defense,' '' Jordan said, laughing. "We could do 99 percent of defense and 1 percent of offense and he would say, 'I want to do something else defensively.'

"The teaching in what we do offensively is also conditioning. They have to cut hard. They have to look at their angles. They have to look at their timing and spacing so when you're teaching just their routes, you have to teach the other part - how to screen, how to come to a jump stop. It's not just teaching where to go, it's knowing how to do it to get where to go."

Jordan said before camp started that he thought the group needed to learn how to see better. By that he meant in order for this offense to work, he needs his players to be able to look at the whole court and know what their teammates are doing so they can react.

"Coach's favorite words are read and react," Young said, "so that's pretty much what we're trying to do, read and react. He's telling us what the plays are, and we're kind of going off the fly right now. Some of it's working and some of it's not, I'm not going to lie to you. But I love going out there and facing challenges every day. We're going to learn it and we're going to flourish in it. It's going to be great."

There has been some frustration, which isn't surprising when learning something new. But for the most part, Jordan has been impressed with the team he has inherited, which went 41-41 last season.

"They have a very high basketball IQ," Jordan said. "They are very unselfish. Our core scorers are unselfish and yet know when they have to step it up and look to get their scoring opportunities. And that's what I want.

"Jason Kapono is very sharp. I think he's ahead of everyone as far as knowing what to do. Willie Green is probably a plus. I hate naming guys, I don't want to get anyone [mad]. But those two stand out."

Said Kapono: "It's very cerebral. The offensive sets are read and react as opposed to one set play where you only do one thing. One set might comprise five different plays. You have to be able to read and know where to go based on what cut's made. Five guys have to be on the same page. If one guy doesn't know what cut to make or what pass to make, it slows down the set. It definitely takes more time to learn."

Which is something the team doesn't have a lot of. After practicing today at PCOM, the Sixers will fly out this afternoon for back-to-back games against the Toronto Raptors tomorrow and Wednesday, then have limited practice time as preseason games are sprinkled in before the season opener Oct. 28 at Orlando.

"I'd rather have more time to practice than play preseason games," Jordan admitted. "My main concern is to have our team ready to play on Friday night in our first home preseason game [against the New Jersey Nets] for the fans."

Until then, it will be more quizzes and practices and teaching and learning. And, of course, some sweat, bumps and bruises.

Whether it all comes together and transforms this group from a middle-of-the-pack Eastern Conference team into a contender has yet to be seen. The answers won't be coming on a quiz sheet or in a classroom discussion. But Jordan hopes those sessions will produce much improvement on the court.

Sixshots

 

The team held a live scrimmage for season ticketholders on Saturday night at St. Joe's. Nearly 500 showed up . . . In Saturday's practice, Eddie Jordan was upset with Sean Singletary for failing an assignment and replaced him with Lou Williams. "There's a time when you have to push the envelope a little bit," the coach said, "and open their eyes a little bit, open their ears a little bit. I'm yelling at him, but also getting other people's attention" . . . The team was given its first day off yesterday.