days of the 76ers' training camp have been completed. There are still three more days of camp, plus practices and eight preseason games, before the Sixers start playing for real Nov. 1.

But if the smile that lit up Chris Webber's face yesterday means anything, things under new head coach Maurice Cheeks are off to a rousing start.

"You see me smile last year?" Webber asked reporters after practice at Duke's Cameron Indoor Stadium. "It feels good. It's a great environment and a great atmosphere, so I couldn't be happier right now."

Smiles from Webber were rare last season. He struggled to find his game in former coach Jim O'Brien's system after his Feb. 23 trade from Sacramento to the Sixers, and his sore left knee didn't help matters any.

Webber worked hard to strengthen his knee in the off-season. Before the start of training camp, he said, Cheeks met with him and clearly outlined his role on the team. Cheeks did the same thing with Allen Iverson, and "we're both happy with that," Webber said.

Webber gave credit to Cheeks for fostering a positive camp atmosphere.

"I'm not speaking against anyone else," he said, "but with Mo, when you're so confident and you know that you've done what you've done, you don't have to prove anything.

"It's almost like, 'Guys, you want to listen to me and you want to win, you'd better listen. If you don't, I'll find somebody else.' I think that helps the role players. I want what Mo has, and that's a championship. I admire what he's done. He's been a man first and a coach second. If you're a good man, it's easy to be a good coach."