"I was in the gym at 8 in the morning, working out with a couple of the managers for about an hour and a half," Davis said. "Then, I would go off to a tutor, to class and then to the weight room for an hour.

"At night, I'd come in and get some shots up and work on ball handling - the little things that are going to separate me from the hundreds of other 6-foot-11 guys out there."

Davis took one summer class and stayed in East Lansing, something he did not do last summer.

"Talk about a mistake (last summer) - he played on that U.S. team which was great, but it lasted six to seven weeks," Izzo said. "In the last game, he separated his shoulder.

"So, of 16 weeks of lifting for most college basketball players, he got about four in."

Izzo said Davis always had strong legs, but needed to work on his upper body size and strength.

Davis is somewhere between 263 and 265 pounds, Izzo said, but is listed at 267 in the media guide, 12-pounds heavier than he was last season.

During summer pick-up games, senior guard Chris Hill said he had already seen a difference in Davis' size.

"I think the strength that he's gained has shown and that's going to pay off for him this year," Hill said.

"You have to give him a lot of credit, that's not always something fun to work on, but he did work hard and got stronger. I think Paul's primed to have a huge year."

Davis might be primed for a big season, but that is what he expects for himself. He said he is ready for the big-time expectations that other people have of him and that he has.

"More than anything else, my goal is to average a double-double," Davis said. "I said it last year, but I didn't really take it to heart. I didn't really know what it was going to take.

"I think this year I do. This summer I realized, there are guys out there getting 10 rebounds a game. I think that's what is going to put me ahead of a lot of guys, if I can do that and help this team win. In order for us to win, I need to get 10 rebounds a game."

Davis said he has worked through a lot of off-court issues with Izzo, sitting down and discussing a lot of things, starting after the Duke game last season. The talks helped both Davis and Izzo understand each other more.

"Everything from - this is the way I play how I do, to this is the way I tie my shoes the way I do," Davis said.

"Understanding each other, not just basketball, but on another level."

Davis would like to take his game on the court to another level. Regardless of how good of a season he has, Davis knows he will be in the spotlight.

He said everybody wants to be in that role, but he didn't last season.

"People say, 'I want to be like you,'" Davis said. "Yeah, you do, but not really. There's so many other pressures that I put on myself last season that didn't need to be."

This year, Davis said things will be different. He is open to talking about winning a Big Ten Championship and being on All-Big Ten first team.

"I don't want Coach to hide that stuff," Davis said. "If I can't deal with that stuff, then I have no reason being in that kind of position."

Hill said with the summer workouts that Davis put himself through, he is in position to be one of the best big men in the nation and has set himself up for a future in basketball.

So, what does Davis think about basketball after this summer?

"It's a year-round thing, you have to love what you do," Davis said. "My dream is to make it past college and those guys have to the love it 82 games a year.

"Hopefully I can make that my career - that's all I want to do for the rest of my life."

---

Upcoming events:

Oct. 15	Homeworn Hoops event	Breslin Center	doors open at 10:30
Nov. 10	Exibition game vs. Grand Valley	Breslin Center	7 p.m.
Nov. 14	Exibition game vs. Northern Michigan	Breslin Center	4 p.m.
Nov. 19	Florida A&M	Breslin Center	8 p.m.