Unless Portland, which has the top pick in this year's draft and likely will take Greg Oden, trades to acquire the rights to Mike Conley, Conley will get his first opportunity to shine on his own.

''That was the scouting report going into college,'' said Conley, who began stepping out of the shadow during the NCAA Tournament. ''I guess the script was flipped a little bit. I had a good freshman year and the tournament really helped out. I definitely had to deal with that a lot growing up and being in his shadow. I thought going to the NBA would be the time we ended up splitting anyway.

''Would I love to play with him? Of course. He's my best friend and we've been teammates since we were in sixth grade. So I don't have anything against him in any way. And we've always had success. I've always had confidence at every level, even if I'm the only one that's believing in me. It'll be different playing without Greg because I'm used to being around him all the time, moreso off the court than on the court. But I think we'll both be fine.''