Memphis — Working on his accelerated NBA degree, Javaris Crittenton has in only nine months explored a majority of the league's wonders. Only 20, the fifth youngest player in the league, he has in very short order:

• Felt the backhanded slap of a draft-night snub. Hoping to go higher after his one season at Georgia Tech - looking to his hometown Hawks at the No. 11 pick - Crittenton instead went 19th to the Los Angeles Lakers. The Hawks opted for another guard, Texas A&M's Acie Law. Everything to follow will be shaded by that perceived slight.

"I do have a little chip on my shoulder," Crittenton says now. "But everything happens for a reason. Maybe I go out and compete and play with a lot of emotion because I thought I should have been that 11th pick."

Which makes his first chance to play against the Hawks tonight at the FedEx Forum here a little bit more than just a meeting between one nowhere NBA team and the visitor from the fringes of the playoff conversation.

• Taken in the view from the Hollywood Hills, one of the NBA's most glorious sights. In Crittenton's brief time with the Lakers, he did manage to go to a couple of red-carpet premieres, but he never quite made it to Hef's grotto or Jack Nicholson's place for cocktails and California rolls.

• Endured his brush with a coaching Buddha.

"It was a little difficult when I first came into the league, especially playing under Phil Jackson," Crittenton recalls. "He likes to play little mind games to test rookies. My first game I didn't even dress out. I knew it was just to see how I'd react."

And how was that exactly? "I didn't show any emotion. I was mad on the inside, but I didn't show it all."

• Already swallowed his first trade. No sooner had the Lakers paved the way for his girlfriend to transfer from Hampton to USC did they package Crittenton in the deal that landed them center Pau Gasol on Feb. 1. So, he's in Memphis and his girlfriend is still in Los Angeles until she can finish a semester. They almost passed each other in the air. The business of trying to dislodge the San Antonio Spurs trumps the heart every time.

• And then learned all new definitions of humility with the 19-54 Memphis Grizzlies, where the term rebuilding translates into getting kneecapped four times out of five.

He has the Got To Prove Myself Blues, which is something they don't sing about down on Beale Street, a place he has only vaguely heard about.

"Since the trade, I don't really have time to go out and have fun," Crittenton said. "You go to a new organization, you're trying to make a statement, make a name for yourself, get playing time. I don't have a lot of free time. I'm in the gym."

The bad news is that Crittenton won't be along for the Lakers' ride through the playoffs, which promises to be a rollicking one. The better news is that with Memphis, at least, his playing time has better than doubled, from 8 minutes per game in 22 games with L.A. to 17 so far with Memphis.

"There are pros and cons on both ends," he said. "You can look at being on the Lakers, learning from Kobe, the tradition, being on a playoff team but still sitting on the bench. ... I'd rather have the experience."

At no time during any of this chaotic apprenticeship has Crittenton questioned his decision to eject from Georgia Tech after one season. Gouging out a foothold in the NBA certainly will be more difficult for Crittenton than it was for his one-time teammate at Southwest Atlanta Christian, Dwight Howard. But being paid the standard for a rookie of his stature - a guaranteed $1.07 million this year, $1.15 million next - beats studying calculus.

"I'm not gonna lie; Tech is hard," he said. "I don't miss school. I miss the coach and the games. I know we might have had an opportunity to do something special this year [Tech freshman Thaddeus Young also left early, the 12th pick by Philadelphia]. But I made a decision, and I'll live with it."

He had been handed the keys to Tech as a freshman, running Paul Hewitt's sets. Where he fits in Memphis is symbolized by his locker's position at home. He dresses between the Grizzlies' top draft pick last year, point guard Mike Conley, and another rookie import, two-guard Juan Carlos Navarro.

Memphis is young all around, particularly in the backcourt. Also playing ahead of Crittenton at the point is Kyle Lowry, 22.

"He's obviously more comfortable playing on the ball, but we need him to do both," Grizzlies coach Marc Iavaroni said of Crittenton.

As at Tech, the Memphis fans have seen the best of Crittenton in tantalizing bursts. Able to use his quickness to penetrate, he has yet to show himself a consistent shooter from the perimeter (he's shooting 41 percent with Memphis, averaging 7 points per game).

Crittenton had his career-best game - 22 points, four assists - against Houston at the end of February. But there is no pattern. One night he'll play 20 minutes, the next he'll play 3.

"The main thing for Javaris, like most young players, is patience," said Johnny Davis, a Memphis assistant and a formerly formidable guard himself. "They want everything right now. He has instances when he comes into a game and does a lot of good things. Sometimes, he's in a bit of a hurry and doesn't allow the game to come to him. A lot of that comes with experience."

"This is a major adjustment," Crittenton said of his hectic life. "I can only control what I can control. Just go out and play hard and show them I can defend and score and get other people the ball, and I'll get more and more opportunity."

If some of that proving out happens to come against the Hawks, he would consider that a nice rookie bonus.