By Andrew Coakley

FN Sports Editor

A dream come true came home the other day.

Magnum Rolle took a break from what may still be a dream for him, to come home and spend time with family and friends and get a dose of reality.

Since being drafted into the NBA and selected by the Indiana Pacers and playing in the NBA Summer League, Magnum Rolle has been in a tail-spin.

It's something he had wanted ever since he began to play the sport of basketball, but having it actually come to pass is something young Rolle may still be dealing with.

In fact, Magnum admits that the reality of being in the NBA has not sunk in as yet.

"But I'm dealing with it," he says, in an interview with The Freeport News.

Magnum made it a point to be home for the Independence celebrations. He wanted to go back to the point from he started and at the same time take in some R &R.

"It's great to be back home," said Rolle.

"The reception coming back home was great. People have congratulated me and it's great to see the people you haven't seen in almost two years."

After spending the past few months preparing for the NBA Draft, having the opportunity of being drafted, then playing in the NBA summer league, Magnum was happy to take a break.

"The summer league was hard, hard work," Magnum admitted.

"It's a taste of what it will be like playing in the NBA, only its a big rougher and more competitive.

"Because the summer league is also made up of players who are free agents, everyone is working and playing hard to earn a spot on a roster.

"So, guys are playing like their lives depend on it, because in a way it does. The summer league is like a job interview.

"There are coaches from every team there watching, not just the players who may have been drafted to their team, but they're watching players from all the other teams and they're watching the free agents.

"When you have a number of guys all playing to try and get the same spot, you know it's a battle...a fight to try and make a roster."

So much of a fight that Magnum pointed to the thread in his head where he had to get stitches after being elbowed hard during a game in the summer league.

With the summer league now over, Magnum is headed back to Indiana where he will continue to train and work out and wait.

Yes, now that the summer league is completed, it becomes a waiting game for drafted players.

It will be a matter of whether or not those players who have been drafted actually make the teams' rosters, or whether or not some of those spots will be taken by free agents.

There is a time period for drafted players to be signed. If a drafted player is not signed within that time, that player is free to go to any team he chooses, who is willing to sign him.

Magnum feels he has put in the hard work necessary, not just in the summer league, but before the Draft. He admits that being from a foreign country and being a Rookie has its disadvantages, but he says he will continue to put in the kind of hard work necessary to earn a place on the team.

Since being drafted, Mag-num says he has learned a lot about what it means to be in the NBA.

He says playing ball on the court is the easy part; being professional off the court is the challenge.

"It's not just playing ball, its how you carry yourself, how you manage your time, you have to be well spoken and well dressed and you have to be professional at all times," said Magnum.

"There are so many fines that you have to develop a mindset that its about business and not just playing ball."

Magnum says a player can be fined for being late, for missing appointments, for cell phones going off in meetings and even for not being properly dressed at a practice session.

"But for me, I've always had a mindset that basketball is about a business," said Rolle.

"So, I'm able to deal with it and handle the situations that may arise. I'm disciplined and

I know how to conduct myself."

Magnum said that there is a big disparity between college ball and NBA ball. He admitted that college ball is a fast-paced game, but quickly adds that the NBA is twice as fast and involve more commitments.

The 6' 11" player says he's ready to work to secure himself a job on the Pacers' team. In the meantime he will have to wait to hear what happens.

Asked if he regretted not going into the Draft last year and choosing to finish college, Magnum says there are no regrets.

"I have a college degree and now I have an opportunity to make my dream of playing professional ball come true."

"As a player, I have the complete package. I can shoot, I can score, I can block shots, I can rebound, I can pass the ball and I can run the floor. I feel that I'm a threat in so many different areas.

"Not only that, I know how to conduct myself on and off the court. I have my personal priorities off the court in the right order and I believe in being disciplined."

Magnum Rolle has become an Ambassador for The Bahamas, a role he did not bargain for, but one which he says he's prepared to shoulder. In fact, he says he is quick to let people know where he's from and willing to talk about his country at any time.

As for other young Bahamians who may have the same kind of dream Magnum has, he says having that dream come true is possible. He says dispel the myth that because one is a Bahamian that having global dreams are not possible.

"I tell young guys here at home all the time that I walked the same streets they walk, dealt with the same situations, went to the same schools and caught the same buses.

"If I can take the opportunities given to me and run with it, they can do the same thing. It's a matter of being disciplined, willing to work hard, choosing the crowd you run with and having the right attitude."