<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Ivan McFarlin learned his lesson in high school, when he realized he wasn't going to be the star player. His school, Willowridge (Texas) High, won the championship at Slam Dunk to the Beach in 1999 and 2000 and was ranked as high as No. 2 in the nation. He knew he wasn't going to become a star through four seasons at Oklahoma State, which reached the NCAA Final Four in 2004. And he knew his place last season while playing in France and last summer while playing for the 76ers summer league team. It's no different now that McFarlin is trying to make the Sixers regular-season roster. He's one of three players fighting for the final spots on the team. The others are La Salle forward Steven Smith and nine-year pro Rick Brunson. With those three players, the 76ers roster stands at 16. The NBA maximum is 15 (12 active players and three inactive), but a team can "I love doing the dirty stuff," McFarlin said. "Some players don't like diving for balls, getting rebounds, throwing elbows and blocking out. But I've had to do that throughout my basketball career. I knew I wasn't going to get as many touches as those other guys, so I had to do something else." Brunson, a 6-foot-4 guard from Temple, has lasted nine seasons in the NBA doing just that. Smith, who was La Salle's leading scorer the past three seasons and averaged 18.3 points a game during his career, understands this, too. "I'm an undrafted rookie coming out of a small school," Smith said. "I've got to be hungry and do the little things." At Willowridge, McFarlin, a 6-8 forward, was on a team with guards T.J. Ford, who's with the Toronto Raptors, and Daniel Ewing, who is with the Los Angeles Clippers. There also was Kenny Taylor, who played at Texas after transferring from Baylor. It worked out because McFarlin was more than willing to rebound and outlet the ball to Ford and Ewing so they could do their thing. In McFarlin's junior season, Willowridge beat Roman Catholic of Philadelphia in the championship game at Slam Dunk. Roman Catholic had Eddie Griffin on that team. Griffin now is with the Minnesota Timberwolves. At that tournament, McFarlin's work was noticed. "I was the MVP," he said with a smile. It was the same way at Oklahoma State. McFarlin was on a team that ended Saint Joseph's undefeated season to reach the Final Four. That team had stars like John Lucas and Tony Allen. McFarlin averaged 11.6 points and 7.4 rebounds a game in his four seasons there. McFarlin also showed his teamwork last summer while playing for the Sixers summer league team in the Rocky Mountain Revue. He averaged 9.2 points a game and led the Revue with 9.7 rebounds a game. McFarlin knows he'll have to play like that if he hopes to make the Sixers. "I know I'm not going to get as many minutes as the other guys," he said. "I'm just going to do my role, with no complaints. I know we have players who can score and players who can rebound. When I get on the floor, I've got to give energy and give the team a spark." That is a characteristic the Sixers sorely lacked last season, and it's something Sixers coach Maurice Cheeks has noticed from McFarlin. "McFarlin is a guy who's all-out," Cheeks said. "He's just a hard-nosed defensive player. If it comes down to it, it's going to be a difficult decision. Everyone who's made a team at some point had to go out and lay it on the line for a week or five days or four days. "To me, the way [McFarlin and Smith] compete, it doesn't matter if there's a day left, or three weeks left, they play the same. "They play hard all the time." </div> Link
