Charlotte Hornets second-year forward Lee Nailon isn?t sure what effect his grandmother?s death in October had on what has become a breakout season for him.

Yet, whether or not her passing inspired him or not to the kind of season that has him in today?s got milk? Rookie Challenge at NBA All-Star Weekend, Nailon knows she?ll be watching.

"You do wonder why things like that happen," said Nailon, who has written "Granny" on the back of his shoes every game since Ruby Dungy died Oct. 23, 2001. "Or what would?ve happened if she was still here.

"I mean, I know she?s watching and she?ll be happy for me. I just wish she was still here to see me play. She never really saw me play that much. And this year things have gone well for me."

That they have.

After playing in 42 games and averaging 3.9 points and 2.2 rebounds last season as a rookie backup to leading scorer Jamal Mashburn, Nailon has softened the loss of Mashburn to injury this season with one of the biggest improvements of any NBA player this season.

His 12.5 scoring average is third among active Hornets? players. And in a season of seemingly non-stop injuries, he?s played in all 48 games (starting 38) and scored in double figures 16 times in the past 21 games.

That Nailon would even be playing for Charlotte this year came as a surprise after strained negotiations this summer between the team and his agent.

But little has come easy for Nailon in his journey to the NBA.

From the playful nature that had coaches wondering if he would take anything seriously, to academic struggles that led to an unusual collegiate journey to legal troubles, Nailon has overcome many obstacles to thrive in the NBA.

"Lee?s rarely taken the usual path," said Nailon?s high school coach, Tom DeBaets. "But he?s a survivor. And he?s showing right now just how talented a basketball player he is."

Always playful

DeBaets said he first noticed Nailon as a 6-foot sixth-grader.

Two years later, he was 6-4 and showing the potential that DeBaets felt confident would make him an NBA player.

"By the time he was a sophomore in high school," DeBaets recalls, "I remember telling him that if he?d get serious and work at it, he could make the NBA.

"He was just the kind of kid who was so playful. We always kidded him about never being serious about anything."

Nailon says he doesn?t recall DeBaets? prophecy, but he does recall lacking direction at that young age.

"I was always in the streets and gangs and stuff," Nailon said. "And when I did go to school, I was sleeping or running the hallways. I wasn?t thinking much about my future."

Nailon says he began paying more attention to his future as a senior at Clay High in South Bend, Ind.

By season?s end in 1994, Clay was in the famed Indiana single-class state basketball championship at the Indianapolis Hoosier Dome.

Nailon?s team won the game, rallying from a nine-point deficit in the final minute to win 76-66 in overtime. Clay defeated a previously unbeaten Valparaiso High team featuring Nailon?s eventual Hornets? teammate Bryce Drew.

"We got him in foul trouble early," Drew said of Nailon. "Which helped a lot. But then he came back and hit some big shots for them down the stretch and they came back and won."

Nailon doesn?t recall the foul trouble ? or how many points he scored. But he does recall how eventual Purdue standout Jarron Cornell hit a 3-pointer to force overtime.

Long college journey

Nailon?s academics weren?t up to par for a NCAA Division I school and he had to start his journey to the NBA at Butler Community College in El Dorado, Kansas. But after three months, he grew homesick, eventually transferring to Southeastern Iowa College in Burlington, Iowa.

In spite of a solid half-season in Iowa, the summer break and a coaching change at Butler led Nailon back to his original junior college, where he led the team to a 29-5 mark ? and earned the attention of national recruiters. Nailon narrowed his transfer choices to TCU and Cincinnati, choosing TCU due to the persistence of assistant coach Steve McClain.

"He stayed after me from school to school," Nailon said. "I kept seeing him everywhere. I was like, ?This guy must really want me to play at his school.? "

At TCU, under head coach Billy Tubbs, Nailon?s star continued to shine, as he led the Western Athletic Conference in scoring both seasons.

Because of Nailon?s obvious offensive skills, many figured him to be a first-round pick in the 1999 NBA draft. Many even projected Nailon as a lottery pick.

But inconsistent play in some of his pre-draft workouts and off-court transgressions such as an arrest at a Fort Worth, Texas, hotel for marijuana possession shortly after his senior season raised questions with NBA scouts, coaches and general managers alike. Even DeBaets worried about Nailon?s pro prospects.

"Well, he got himself in a little bit of trouble of couple of times," DeBaets said. "There were just a string of little things where the NBA ? and I would to ? felt that maybe they were taking a chance with him."

Yet no one anticipated his slipping all the way to 43rd in the 1999 draft, where the Hornets chose him in the second round. In fact, Charlotte officials hadn?t even brought Nailon in for an individual workout, choosing him only at the recommendation of their college scouts who had seen him play.

Another journey

Charlotte vice president Bob Bass in particular left Nailon?s summer camp appearance in Atlanta in July 1999 unimpressed with Nailon?s work ethic and ability. Nailon?s agent, Larry Fox, said he felt a switch in positions was to blame.

"Lee had a tremendously high learning curve coming out of college," Fox said. "He was a 5 (center) at TCU and played in a running game. So he had to make some major adjustments to play 2 (off-guard) or 3 (small forward) with Charlotte. I don?t think it was lack of effort as much as it was just something new for him."

Nonetheless, Charlotte?s non-guaranteed contract offer led Fox to advise Nailon to sign with Adecco Milano, the Italian League team then owned by Los Angeles Lakers? All-Star Kobe Bryant.

In spite of averaging 18.2 points in the regular season and 22.3 in a European championship series, Nailon simply did not like playing overseas and longed to return home.

To return to the NBA, Nailon and Fox took a $25,000 guarantee on a $316,969 contract for the 2000-01 season. But he showed Hornets? brass enough to remain with the team, albeit in a limited role.

Last summer, a return to Charlotte seemed unlikely when the Hornets offered to guarantee only $48,573 of Nailon?s $615,850 contract. Briefly, it looked like Nailon would choose to go back overseas and forsake the Charlotte offer. But Silas convinced Fox and Nailon to give the Hornets a chance to prove his worth.

As evidenced by today?s appearance in the special NBA event, Nailon?s gamble paid off.

"You know, fate has a funny way of presenting things," Silas said. "Mash (Mashburn) goes down and he gets his chance. We were just laughing about it the other day. On one hand, you have Italy and on the other, you?re on the sophomore team for the All-Star game. Which one would you rather have?"

Said Nailon, "I just didn?t want to go back overseas. But it?s pretty obvious things have worked out for me here."

Future looks bright

Because of today?s game, Nailon?s future looks bright if not unsettled. Many around the NBA see Nailon cashing in on this year?s solid season with a big payday this summer.

Silas simply hopes Nailon will remain with his team ? whether it?s in Charlotte or New Orleans next season ? and the doesn?t follow its recent trend of developing unheralded players only to see them go elsewhere when their contracts are up.

In recent years, Malik Rose (San Antonio), Brad Miller (Chicago) and Eddie Robinson (Chicago) have followed that path.

"He?s going to get paid," Silas said of Nailon. "Somebody?s going to pay him some money this year because he can score. The word is around that he?s a guy that you can depend on to score. And, quite frankly, I think we have to look at this really hard. Because we just can?t afford to keep giving up talent."

Fox admits that past negotiations could hinder Charlotte?s chances of retaining Nailon.

"I think, in spite of the fact that negotiations weren?t fun for him, he?s come in and done what was expected of him and then some," Fox said. "But at this point, it?s something that we honestly can?t worry about. Right now, Lee just wants to help the team win games and make a playoff run. And the chips will fall in place for him."

Nailon takes a similar wait-and-see approach.

"I wouldn?t be human if I said I wasn?t thinking about it every day," he said. "It?s kind of hard to play and not think about what the future holds. I just pray every night that God will take care of it and, hopefully, the right thing will happen for me. We?ll just wait and see until July comes around."