"If you came in for the first four practices and you didn't know enough about the NBA but you knew something about basketball, you would never know he's a rookie. He really knows what's going on.
"He's solid in every phase. He defends. He gets to where he needs to get. He's a rebounder. He's not afraid to mix it up with bigger, stronger guys, because he is big and strong. He's not afraid to shoot the ball. He's very aggressive when he has the ball in his hands."
O'Brien said Iguodala had also impressed Dick Harter, a Sixers assistant who, at 73, has been around the coaching block, and Jack Ramsay, the 79-year-old Hall of Fame coach who is at camp as an observer.
O'Brien told Iguodala before yesterday's first practice that the rookie had the ability "to impact on a number of areas of the game."
For his part, Iguodala, 20, who left the University of Arizona after his sophomore season and was taken by the Sixers with the ninth pick in the draft, is just trying to fit in and concentrate on what O'Brien and the other coaches want him to do.
"I feel very comfortable," the 6-foot-6 forward said. "When I'm out there, I feel very confident. I know what's going on. I'm just watching and learning. When Coach speaks, I'm paying attention. As long as I stay focused, I shouldn't have a problem keeping up."
Iguodala got a head start on getting to know O'Brien and his style of basketball by playing on the Sixers' summer-league team. Before training camp, however, he wondered about blending in with the Sixers' more experienced players.
"Yeah, I kind of thought about that - how would I fit in with the guys?" he said. "But I've been playing ball all my life, and all ballplayers are pretty much the same. They like the same things and having fun. We pretty much have the same interests. So I fit in well with the guys."
