<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">BARCELONA, Spain - You suggest to Samuel Dalembert that, in the course of last season, it often seemed someone else was wearing his uniform, he nods knowingly. He missed 16 games early in the season with a strained right quadriceps. Other times, he tried to play through it. Too many times, he wasn't there even when he was there. He reached a psychological bottom when the trade of Steven Hunter to the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets fell through nearly a week after it was announced, and Hunter replaced Dalembert in the starting lineup. But Dalembert isn't in the 76ers' training camp, nearly 4,000 miles from Philadelphia, to look back, except as a frame of reference. "I wasn't prepared for the mental part," Dalembert acknowledged. "I knew I was doing everything in my power, but sometimes people have expectations of you. Your body sometimes doesn't allow you to do what you want to do. They knew about it; I was trying hard, but it was a communications thing. I should have prepared better mentally; maybe I would have had a better year, stayed focused. Last year was the first time I had to fight to keep my spirit. I tried to keep it inside; I tried to stay positive, even though it was tearing me up inside." His quad has healed, his mind is fresh, his attitude is rejuvenated. As coach Maurice Cheeks focuses relentlessly on sharpening the defense, Dalembert appears to be concentrating just as hard. On the surface, his numbers last season were adequate - 7.3 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.42 blocks, 53.1 percent shooting from the floor - but he knows neither his performance nor approach was. "It's impossible to block him out," teammate Chris Webber said yesterday, after the fourth day of camp at Palau Sant Jordi Annex. "He's just a monster, man. I've played with some great defenders; I played with Ben Wallace... and he checked me every day in practice. This guy, Sam, if he concentrates on rebounding and blocking shots, he will be a monster in the NBA. He can lead the league in blocks, easy, and lead the league in rebounds, easy." But can he stay on the court, involved in the flow, out of early foul trouble? "That's the question," Webber said. "[Dikembe] Mutombo, [Alon-zo] Mourning would sit and wait for you. Sam's feet are so quick, he can really check a guard; he needs to realize right now is not the time. He has to back up and let them come to [him]. It's almost an attitude of what he might think is not doing his best, but I tell him that's what 'smart' is." For veteran Dalembert watchers, it is significant that his sunny disposition seems to have re-emerged. He is enjoying himself on and off the court. The other day, he said, he walked nearly 2 hours in Barcelona; he said he's going out again, "to take pictures." He reveled when, while walking, he came upon a familiar haunt. "I saw Starbucks," he said, laughing. "I was so happy." But unlike teammate Allen Iverson, Dalembert could walk among the people largely unrecognized. "When I was walking back, it was so funny, people just looked at me," he said. "If I was playing soccer, they would recognize me. This is a lovely place, family-oriented, a lot of siesta time."</div> Source
