Mike Conley staying prepared Indianapolis Star - The only sounds heard inside the empty FedEx Forum was a single basketball bouncing and Memphis Grizzlies ' Coach Marc Iavaroni's voice giving tips on how to run the pick-and-roll offense Saturday morning. On the receiving end of Iavaroni's voice was former Lawrence North High School standout Mike Conley. Conley, who was still on the court nearly 45 minutes after his teammates had departed from their morning shootaround, is getting the majority of his work before, during and after practice because playing time has been sparse for the No. 4 pick in the summer's draft. "This is where I'm getting all my work in," Conley said. "Of course I would love to be out there, but it's something right now that this team is in a good position. . . . I'm fine with the guys that are playing ahead of me. I'm trying to learn as much as I can while I'm on the bench." Playing behind veteran Damon Stoudamire and second-year player Kyle Lowry, Conley didn't play in a game when healthy for the first time in his basketball career against the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday. "It was different," he said. And Conley didn't play against Indiana on Saturday night in the Pacers' 121-111 victory here. Conley's best preseason game came against the Pacers on Oct. 17. Despite the high expectations of being the No. 4 pick, Conley has remained level-headed and keeps a positive attitude. Iavaroni said the rookie is usually one of the first players to arrive at practice and is routinely one of the last ones off the court. "He's a young kid and you see what he's willing to do," the Grizzlies coach said. "To me, he's going to be a success because he's a hard worker. I think he's been hungry in practice. He's ready on the bench." Conley has always had a strong work ethic. But now he's having to do it without "everybody holding your hand," like in college. "You have to put in work by yourself," he said. "You have to be disciplined enough to come in early and leave later and put in the extra work, even though the practices are really hard. It's really tough to maintain that discipline and responsibility in the NBA. It hasn't been tough for me because it was something I knew I had to do." http://tinyurl.com/3xejar --

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