All hail King Andrew

Bynum LA Daily News: NEW YORK - As hard as it was to believe Tuesday night, Andrew Bynum was playing against the likes of St. Anthony and St. Patrick this time last year in the New Jersey Catholic high school league.

“I don’t look at it like that,” Bynum said, “but some of my friends are like, `Last year you were playing with us, a bunch of guys who didn’t even play college basketball. Now you’re playing in the NBA.’ It’s pretty cool to look back on that.”

Bynum had a homecoming to remember, hitting all seven shots he took on the way to 16 points in the fourth quarter, including a follow-up dunk over Knicks center Eddy Curry, in the Lakers’ victory at Madison Square Garden.

Bynum also scored off a jump hook, a move special assistant coach Kareem Abdul-Jabbar taught him, in the quarter. It came in the same building where Bynum played in last year’s Jordan high school all-star game, hitting the only 3-pointer of his career.

The 18-year-old Bynum, who played in high school at nearby St. Joseph in Metuchen, N.J., has played in only 24 of the Lakers’ 44 games this season. But he has shown a

remarkable ability to rise to the occasion when he is on the court.

Bynum electrified the Staples Center crowd with a dunk on Shaquille O’Neal earlier this month. He also played well against Tim Duncan in a game earlier this season. His previous best game had been six points.

“It’s going very good,” Bynum said of his rookie season. “I was hoping to play more during the season. That’s pretty much my only bump in the road so far is just not getting enough time. When I get out there, I’m just going to play hard and do my best.”

Bynum also revealed that his teammates were shouting, “Way to go socks” from the bench. It turns out that is Bynum’s nickname.
“I used to take showers with socks on because I didn’t have shower shoes,” Bynum said. “It’s a rookie thing.”