The LeBron & Kobe Show -- minus Redick -- starts play against Venezuela in the FIBA Americas Championship today at 11 p.m. as the United States attempts to qualify for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

Redick can't help this U.S. team (maybe in '10 or '12, he says), but his nine days working out with the national squad this summer will set him up, he believes, for a better second NBA season with the Orlando Magic.

"I've done a series of things to prepare me for next year -- like working out in Orlando, Fla., then playing in the summer league there, then going to the U.S. mini-camp [in July] and now here; just trying to gain momentum," Redick said before flying home to Orlando late Monday night.

"It's five weeks before the NBA [preseason] starts. So I'll take a week off and then get back at it."

His rookie season didn't go well. Before Orlando drafted the former Duke star, Redick had been trying to recover from a nagging back injury.

Once healed, Redick came off the bench for 42 regular-season games and averaged 6.0 points in 14.8 minutes per game playing under former coach Brian Hill.

Redick acknowledges his first NBA season didn't go as planned.

In 2007-08, Redick will be playing with a new coach in Stan Van Gundy, who already told the ACC's all-time leading scorer that he'd earn his playing time with his effort on defense.

"That's what we discussed," Redick said. "He said I couldn't have done anything else to prove myself in his eyes, but that I will play next year. And how much I play and if I star all depends on my focus on defense. I appreciate his candor."

The 6-foot-4 Redick must defend shooting guards such as the Los Angeles Lakers' Bryant, the Milwaukee Buck's Michael Redd and the Memphis Grizzlies' Mike Miller in the NBA. Redick had a chance to defend against all three of the taller guards while working out with the U.S. national team.

"It has been good," Redick said. "The thing is, no one can stop Kobe. He's the best player in the world. You just play as hard as possible and contest all of his shots."

Phoenix Suns all-star Amare Stoudemire, who will play in the Americas qualifier, said he knows how valuable the U.S. team experience can be for Redick. Stoudemire squeezed what he could out of it last summer while recovering from a knee injury.

"Yeah, it was [valuable]," Stoudemire said. "I had a chance to practice with NBA stars, that was important for my rehab. Once I went home, I knew where I stood as far as my health."

Redick is healthy now, but all that time he spent on the Magic bench pondering life and the significance of defense in 2006-07 told Redick that he couldn't rush things in his new career.

"It's a maturation process," he said. "There are guys who are all-stars now that didn't play a whole lot [early]. I'm not saying I'm going to be an all-star but it took time for them. Just getting an opportunity is paramount for probably 80 percent of the league. I'm in that 80 percent."

It's not what many would have predicted for the consensus national college player of the year of 2006.

The trade-off for Redick, dropping into that 80 percent group, was getting to jump out of the Duke fishbowl where he was treated, followed, and cursed like any sports star.

"I have more anonymity [in Orlando]," he said, "but I don't mind either. It is nice to be in Orlando. I can actually go places."