Acie Law IV doesn't mind working without the boisterous crowds, the bright lights and glamour of the NBA.

In fact, he doesn't need it right now.

Not in the frame of mind he's been in since the Hawks' season ended with a Game 7 loss to the Boston Celtics in a first-round playoff series in early May.

These days, Law has traded the limelight for a spotlight on his own personal challenge —- the Hawks' point guard's focus is to regain the form that made him the No. 11 pick in the 2007 draft. He intends to shed the memories of an uneven rookie season plagued by injuries and lost opportunity.

That's why he's attacking the start of rookie/free agent minicamp today as the first step of his comeback tour.

"I had high expectations for my rookie season, and I didn't get to show off my game," Law said after sweating through a workout on the Hawks' practice court last week. "I feel like I have so much to prove. This is the first step. But I'm really looking forward to training camp and proving to my teammates, the new general manager [Rick Sund] and Coach that I can play."

Law's rookie season was a disappointment by any measure, but especially when compared to the masterful showcase put on by Al Horford, who started at center all season and finished as the runner-up to Kevin Durant for Rookie of the Year honors.

Law played in only 56 games due to injuries that dogged him or coach Mike Woodson's decision to use someone else. He averaged 4.2 points and 2.0 assists and shot a dreadful 20.6 percent (7-for-34) from beyond the 3-point line and 40 percent from the floor.

The skills that had teams smitten with Law before the draft seemed to disappear as his rookie season moved from promising start to an anonymous finish once the Hawks traded for Mike Bibby at the All-Star break.

Law averaged just 15.4 minutes per game, logging a total of 865 minutes, time that Law and Woodson admit didn't allow for an accurate evaluation.

"Unfortunately for Acie," Woodson said, "people are going to weigh his rookie season with Al Horford's. Al got the big minutes and he produced, and Acie got minutes early and then he got hurt and then he came back and got hurt. He was on and off as far as injuries were concerned. As a coach, I just didn't have time to wait on him."

That's why this minicamp and the chance to run things in Salt Lake City —- where the Hawks play their first summer league game Friday —- are so appealing to Law. Except for a two-week break, Law has been in the gym, weight room and taking therapy for the wrist injury that cost him much of his rookie season, with military precision.

The Monday morning after the July 4 holiday, Law was in the gym with hardly any lights on, sprinting through his paces when Woodson came to check on the new floor being put down and noticed Law working.

"I think the sky is the limit for him because he's willing to put forth the effort, he's very good about taking coaching, and he's going to get better," Woodson said.

"The bottom line is this, when I got desperate coming down the home stretch last season, I'm the one that shrunk the rotation," Woodson said. "Nobody did that but me. My coaches fought me on it. But I thought it was the right thing for us to do in terms of making a serious run to get that playoff spot. It worked out in our favor, but if I had it to do all over again I wish I would have played [Law] a little bit more."

While Law appreciates his coach's attempt to take some responsibility for the unrealized expectations of his rookie season, he's not buying into anyone else owning his destiny.

"If Coach wasn't comfortable with me on the floor, that means I have to do a better job of making him feel comfortable with me playing," Law said. "I have to a better job of that this summer and then again in training camp to make sure that everybody is comfortable with me on that floor.

"That's why I'm here now working with [strength and conditioning coach] Chattin [Hill] and trying to get my body in tip-top shape for what I know is coming. And I'm going to be here. I'm going to be right here waiting on everybody to get back here for training camp. And I won't let up."