BETHANY, Okla. - Sean Banks didn't arrive in the NBA quite the way he expected, but that doesn't mean much anymore.
After signing with the New Orleans Hornets, he knows he has to work just as hard as an undrafted free agent as he would have if he had been a first-round draft pick.
Banks, a 6-8 forward who was ruled academically ineligible 10 games into his sophomore season at Memphis, was considered by many to have first-round talent but his other baggage left him without a team at the end of the draft. He participated in summer camp with the Hornets, and signed with the team on Saturday.
After the Hornets' second day of practice in suburban Oklahoma City, he said he's learning quickly what coach Byron Scott expects of him.
"Sean's biggest thing right now is that he's never really been pushed. He's going to have to get used to being pushed and doing all the little things," Scott said. "I'm the type of coach that relies heavily on details. I want things done a certain way. I want them done the right way.
"When I say touch the line, I want the line touched. Those are just little things that he has to learn and deal with."
Scott said he considers Banks a gifted player. The 20-year-old averaged 17.4 points and 6.5 rebounds his freshman year at Memphis, and had four games in which he hit six 3-pointers.
"He can score. He has a knack for putting the ball in the basket," Scott said. "He's a natural small forward. All the little things that we have to teach him to play the game at 20 years old is going to take him a little time. But I think he's worth it."
Scott said Banks, who is one of four rookies on the Hornets' 18-man training camp roster, needs to make up ground on offense.
"He's going to have to really grasp it a lot quicker," Scott said. "He seems to have some trouble with it. But once he gets there, I think he's going to be pretty good."
