For Brandon Armstrong, the daily ritual began early ? both in his career and in his day.

When he was 12, he would get up before dawn in Vallejo, Calif., hop on the city bus with his best friend and arrive at the empty junior high school gym at 6:30 a.m.

They would play until they were drenched in sweat, then Armstrong would take extra shots and arrive with seconds to spare for his 7:30 math class.