If you had witnessed any of the games, the answer could have gone without saying.

"Eddie Griffin," said Boylen. "Eddie Griffin."

Indeed he has. The 6-foot-10 Rocket power forward showed flashes of brilliance and loads of potential in his rookie campaign. Already at Long Beach he's shown signs that he will take it up several notches from that in 2002-2003.

Facing rookie Amare Stoudemire of the Suns on Friday, Eddie didn't shy away from contact and rose to the challenge, outscoring the high school phenom 32-12 and hit 12 of his 16 shots, including all three triples he put up. At one point in the third Eddie was outscoring Amare 24-to-2.

The offensive surge hasn't come at the sacrifice of his defense either. On one play in the paint, 7-footer Jake Tskalidis went straight up for a short jumper, and came straight down courtesy of an Eddie rejection. Though the box credited Eddie with two blocks, Boylen said the Rockets had counted eight.

The former Seton Hall forward told me he has put on 10 pounds this summer.

"I've been lifting weights, trying to stay in shape, shooting, trying to work on my ballhandling so I can develop my overall game," said Griffin.

He's not standing around on the offensive end either. He's moving well without the ball and more importantly, he's posting up down on the blocks.

The Rockets haven't turned a deaf ear to the criticism that the gifted player was used as little more than a three-point threat in his rookie season. As a result this summer, the organization has preached the inside game to Eddie and have been drilling him on it, and it's paying off.

"He's demonstrated he can make outside shots," said Boylen. "But he's got an inside game now [and] he's gained 17 pounds since we drafted him last year."

Eddie averaged 8.8 points, 5.7 boards and 1.8 blocks in his rookie campaign, but struggled hard at times, hitting just 36.6% of his shots from the floor. Even more staggering perhaps is that despite Eddie's position, height and board work, over 40% of his shots on offense were from beyond the arc last season.

The goal is for that to not be the case this season.

"We've been trying to get him inside more," said Boylen. "He's a pick-and-pop guy and a perimeter type guy, but he's got a good jump hook and he's got a turn shot and he can face up off the box. He's very skilled. He's just got to get used to getting on down in there, getting beat on, but he's 20 and he's just starting to fill out."

He also knows the biggest competition he'll face early on will be for a starting position. I asked Eddie after the Suns game how he viewed the situation at power forward for the Rockets with Maurice Taylor coming back from injury and Kenny Thomas having a strong season last year. Eddie's smile grew big and wide ... almost like he secretively knew some answer that I did not.

"I think it's a tough call. All of us can play," said Eddie. "It's going to be tough in training camp but I think we can work it out."

Eddie and Mo Taylor, who was in attendance Friday, looked to be friends from the two times I saw them communicate, almost like Mo was giving Eddie some advice. Could Kenny be the odd man out? We'll see.

As for Eddie, by no means is he ready to take over inside. There were times where Alton Ford could push him around and even Stoudemire had his moments, so he still has more distance to travel on that road, but the Rockets are seeing the clear strides he's making and point out that even in his blossoming youth, Griffin could be ready to be a legitimate cog in the Rockets machine next season.

"I wouldn't say he's a surprise at all," said Boylen. "We knew he was good [but] he's had a great couple of days. We're excited about him."

With good reason.