When you're 7-foot-1 and weigh 255 pounds, it's hard being inconspicuous. But Joel Przybilla tries his best.

The Milwaukee Bucks' young, hulking center prefers to low-key just about everything he does. Walk into the Bucks' locker room, and you wouldn't even know he's there. Przybilla always sits in the northeast corner, quiet as a church mouse. And, when he leaves his job, Przybilla usually heads to the solitude of his home.

"I'm really laid-back,'' said Przybilla, whose soft voice reflects that self-assessment. "I'm pretty quiet. I keep to myself. I don't like to make a scene.

"After a practice or a game, I just like to relax. I like to be with my friends and family.''

Przybilla's lifestyle is in marked contrast to many of his NBA peers, who play as hard off the court as on it, who prefer to be seen rather than unseen. Last season, Przybilla's first in the NBA, he wasn't seen enough, even for his liking.

After being the ninth overall selection in the 2000 draft, Przybilla was immediately saddled with lofty expectations. Bucks fans and the media envisioned him being perhaps the missing piece to a Bucks' championship puzzle.

But Przybilla's rookie season was far from memorable. He played in only 33 of the 82 regular-season games. Then, during the playoffs, Bucks coach George Karl had such little faith in the big man that he called on him in one game for a grand total of two minutes.