MIAMI -- Joel Anthony was a long way from home and a very long way from the NBA when he arrived at Pensacola Junior College.
Not only was he jolted by the culture shock of moving from Montreal to the Florida Panhandle, but he was hit by a barrage of balls. Basketballs, volleyballs, tennis balls, medicine balls -- Anthony had to catch a stream of balls while wearing cotton gloves every day during practice.
The drill was designed to develop Anthony's hand-eye coordination, of which he had none.
"He was raw," said Paul Swanson, Anthony's coach at PJC. "He was an outstanding athlete with no basketball skills, no ego and unlimited desire."
Seven years later, Anthony is the anchor of the Heat's defense.
He is a player who made it in the NBA through sheer hard work.
He is the man expected to do most of the dirty work down low against the Chicago Bulls as the Eastern Conference finals continue with Game 3 on Sunday night.
The 6-9 pseudo-center leads the team in blocks and charges taken.
But the other things he does -- altering opponents' shots, blocking out, hedging screens, helping on defense -- don't get tabulated in the boxscore.
He has progressed from an NBA D-League player to the Heat's secret weapon to a fan favorite who hears chants of "MVP!" when he's at the free-throw line. His high-energy style is perfectly suited for the matchup with Joakim Noah.
But when he came to Miami as an undrafted free agent in 2007, then-assistant Erik Spoelstra didn't rate him as much of a prospect.
Spoelstra and assistant Keith Askins were assigned to work one on one with Anthony by Pat Riley, who saw something in the Canadian kid.
"I don't like to call him a project," Askins said. "But it's true that he read a book to get ready to play basketball."
Anthony's Bible was NBA Power Conditioning, which happened to be written by Heat strength and conditioning coach Bill Foran.
"When I first saw Joel run, he had a soft run and was light on his feet for his size," Askins said.
"He never got tired. You never saw him bend over. He never got hurt -- or if he did, he didn't tell anybody."
Sense of timing
The long-armed Anthony was a natural shot blocker.
He was able to pogo-stick upward with multiple hops.
He had a sense of timing that "you cannot teach," said Askins, who added that Anthony reminds him of Ben Wallace.
Anthony put in long hours at the gym, even when he was ordered to take time off.
"It's been a joy working with someone so willing to learn," Askins said.
Anthony is still learning a repertoire of shots.
His hands are a work in progress.
"When he doesn't make a catch it gets highlighted because he only gets a few. He's been judged harshly on that," Askins said.
Anthony didn't play organized basketball until he joined a recreational league at age 16.
Up until then he had been playing football.
After growing half a foot one summer, he decided to focus on getting a basketball scholarship.
"The NBA wasn't on my mind," said Anthony, who spent two years in Pensacola before playing two years at UNLV.
"I was just hoping for a chance at Division I."
Endless work ethic
Swanson recruited Anthony after watching him at a high school tournament in Ocala.
In Pensacola, Swanson molded Anthony with a series of drills, including the one where he tossed different types of balls at Anthony as Anthony slid from one side of the lane to the other.
The gloves forced Anthony to concentrate on his touch.
"I'd throw it hard, soft, high, wide -- and he had to pass it back," Swanson said. "But he couldn't do it. The ball kept hitting the wall. I'd suggest taking a break or putting a time limit on it, but Joel insisted we keep going until he got it right.
"He had the kind of disposition that keeps you in coaching. I'm so happy to see success in somebody who earned it the old-fashioned way."
The soft-spoken Anthony said he got his discipline from his mother, retired school principal Erine Anthony.
"She taught me to wake up early and to be tireless," said Anthony, whose family comes from Antigua. "She taught me that nothing is given to you. You have to sacrifice."
Swanson and Riley were big influences on him.
"They both believe that dedicated players can make something of themselves," he said. "The Heat is a good fit for me because of the emphasis on development and defense."
School influence
One other person who made an impact on Anthony was his English tutor at study hall in Pensacola.
Catherine Gifford, who has been teaching writing and grammar for 40 years, said Anthony was initially a procrastinator with poor grades.
She taught him to apply his diligence on the court to the classroom.
"Joel was never cross," said Gifford, who pronounces Anthony's first name with one syllable instead of the French-Canadian pronunciation of Jo-el. "He had wonderful manners. He's not a showoff. And he got serious about writing."
Gifford has since become a dedicated fan who watches every Heat game on TV.
She attended one of his UNLV games at Auburn.
After the game, he greeted Gifford, then ran to the team bus and brought back an English paper.
"I don't proofread, mind you, but I pointed out where he could add detail and fix mistakes," she said. "That's Joel for you. He never, ever stops working to get better."
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