Guard Michael Dickerson participated in only the first half-hour of practice Tuesday morning, and then excused himself.

"What it came down to was the pace. It was a hard pace," coach Hubie Brown said. "I don't want to say anything else because I haven't talked to him yet."

Dickerson admitted to over-extending himself at the start of last year's training camp. He broke down just before the 2002-03 regular season began. Dickerson participated in informal workouts for nearly two weeks before the start of training camp.

Tuesday was the first day Grizzly players with four-plus years of experience were required to practice.

Evening sessions are closed to the media so how much time - if any - that Dickerson worked out is unknown.

Brown strongly iterated that the organization would not nudge Dickerson to retire. Dickerson told The Commercial Appeal last week that he plans to play this season.