One hundred, thirteen points.

Sixty-six rebounds.

Nineteen blocked shots.

The modern-day Primoz Brezec can rack up those totals in a couple weeks, much less over the three seasons the statistics above represent. And his progress this season as the Charlotte Bobcats’ starting center made him a candidate for the NBA’s Most Improved Player Award.

His success, he believes, is as much a product of time and circumstance as anything else.

“I could say that this is my rookie season because this is my first opportunity to play,” said Brezec.

You wouldn’t figure a first opportunity would be so slow to come along for Brezec given his 7-1, 255-pound size and his international experience as a member of Slovenia’s national team. Yet when the Charlotte Bobcats claimed him in the Expansion Selection last year, they were indeed getting a rookie, as General Manager & Head Coach Bernie Bickerstaff has been quick to point out.

Brezec started his NBA career with Indiana, appearing in only 62 games for a total of 343 minutes over three seasons. The limited role says more about the Pacers’ depth and experience in the frontcourt than it does anything detrimental about Brezec.

The proof: Getting playing time with the first-year Bobcats his game flourished, producing averages of 13.0 points and 7.4 rebounds and a .512 field goal percentage, creating totals that dwarf those of his league-entry seasons.

At his initial three-year pace, it would have taken him almost seven seasons to record that many minutes on the court.

Today he is happy and not surprised to find success in his new role, though he admits he went through some trying times to reach this level, not just as a Pacer but through the early days of his time with the Bobcats. Three seasons in a spot deep on the bench can shake a player’s confidence and Brezec was not an exception.

“I was pretty confident in my abilities, in what I can do on the court,” said Brezec. “Maybe (at Indiana) I lost…when you’re not playing you can’t say you’re confident. I didn’t have my confidence.

“But I started getting it back in the (2004) summer league with the Bobcats, in Salt Lake City. I didn't start very good. Those first two games I didn’t play very good. I got more playing time and then my confidence started to grow. And then later I was playing with my national team and then going into the Bobcats training camp so I found a comfort level and it went from there.”

He said his time at Indiana helped his professional growth despite frustration with his limited role, though he had to push himself to stay ready and continue his improvement.

“Even when I was on the bench at Indiana and I didn’t play, I was working out before the games,” Brezec said. “I didn’t take any days off because I knew once my opportunity was going to come I had to be ready, no matter what.

“It’s frustrating, you know, not playing. But you have to stay focused and keep your mind ready. You’ve got to be positive all the time.

“You learn from watching a guy like Reggie (Miller), how he came to work every day. He never took a day off. He was the first one on the court, the last one to leave. So there were some things that I picked up. I was happy to be around those kinds of guys in Indiana.”

Not nearly as happy, as it would turn out, as he was when the surprise of the Expansion Selection wore off and he found himself in Charlotte, face to face with the opportunity he had been waiting for. There were, clearly, more demands – the wear and tear on his body with the huge increase in minutes played came hand-in-hand with his emergence on the court.

“I’m glad to have the playing time,” he said. “It’s different. At first I didn’t realize how hard it was going to be to be playing every night in an 82-game season. Was my conditioning going to be enough?

“I worked so hard in the summer to get my body right and my conditioning straight so it was really not that tough. It wasn’t more difficult than I expected, maybe because I was in such good shape because I had been working out.”

While he considers 2004-05 to be his rookie season, the time spent in Indiana at least helped him avoid the proverbial rookie wall, which creates major swings in the play of first-year players.

“I can’t say I hit the wall,” he said. “I didn’t hit the wall. I’ve been pretty consistent the whole year.”

Brezec had no major fluctuations in his game-by-game statistics as the season moved along. There were times, though, when Bickerstaff, knowing Brezec’s ability to step outside for accurate jumpers, in the process drawing an opposing center out of the low post, had to urge him to take his shot.

“When a coach says that to you, what can you say? Some of the coaches say you have to focus more on defense, you can’t shoot it every time,” said Brezec, grinning. “But he would say, ‘Primoz you’ve got to shoot it.’ And that gives you even more confidence.

“Sometimes I could shoot more but sometimes I don’t feel that confident and the guys are around me with their hands up. I start pump faking, one dribble and maybe pass to some open guy. I just try to get an even better shot out of the situation.”

Brezec, who missed the final games of the regular season with an ankle sprain, has already started his offseason workout routine, something he plans to continue most of the summer while he and his family are at home in Slovenia.

“I have already started a weight program with the strength coach,” Brezec said. “So this is going to be my starting process, in the weight room. I’ve got to get stronger during the summer. Upper body strength. That’s going to be one of my major focuses during the summer.

“I did pretty good with the (opposing) big guys this season. I mean, nobody can guard Shaq but other than that, I think I did pretty good.”