"We wanted to use the first game as a measuring stick for things to improve on," Scott said. "But with the poise he played (with), I thought like he had been in the league more than two years."

However, Scott said Collison must push the tempo more frequently, become more vocal at calling out sets and limit his turnovers. He committed three turnovers Sunday.

"There are some things I need to work on as far as learning how to play the screen on defense and when to hit people and when to attack," said Collison, who played four seasons at UCLA.

"That's all just part of playing the game and getting your feet wet," he said. "At the end of the day, there are a lot of things we need to work on."

When training camp starts in October, Collison will be expected to catch on quickly and compete effectively against Antonio Daniels and Devin Brown for minutes. There remains a chance, however, that Daniels or Brown could be traded before camp begins. Even if they are not around, Collison can expect to have difficult battles against Chris Paul whenever the first and second units scrimmage.

"He has to win minutes, and that starts in the summer league," Scott said. "What I want to do with the second unit a little bit more is add some athleticism where we can run and trap and get up and down the floor to create havoc on the defensive end."

The Hornets selected Collison with the 21st pick in last month's NBA draft. Though summer league rosters are a hodgepodge of draft picks and second-year players, as well as undrafted rookies and D-Leaguers, Scott wants consistent performances from Collison.

"I didn't think he pushed it (tempo) as much as I wanted to, but he was good at setting up everything," Scott said. "But I want him to be more aggressive at trying to create an up-tempo game. I think he can do that."

Throughout Sunday's game, Collison quickly passed to teammates before the Spurs could double-team on pick-and-roll plays.

For the past two seasons, the Hornets have depended on pick-and-roll plays with Paul often getting the ball to forward David West or center Tyson Chandler before opponents can react. Collison wants to play the same way.

"I definitely want to attack and be aggressive," Collison said. "I want to get out there right away and make a name for myself."

It has been all work for Collison after arriving in Las Vegas last week. The Hornets held two-a-day practices for the four days before Sunday's game.

"We want to give him every opportunity to learn as quickly as possible, so it's not about thinking out there, just reacting," Scott said.

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John Reid can be reached at jreid@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3407.