LAS VEGAS – Standing in the middle of a crowded gym, Jeremy Tyler couldn't be more exposed.

College basketball coaches know him on a first-name basis, scouting services tout him on top-10 lists, fans pack gyms to assess his game. Lucky for him, then, that missing the first half of his AAU team's afternoon game in the Main Event Tournament in Las Vegas was not a major problem.

“It really didn't bother me,” San Diego High's Tyler said after scoring seven points in the second half of the California Supreme's 69-48 win over New Jersey's JJ Hoops last Friday. “Usually, I'd get mad for missing the first half. But I knew the reason – do not be late to any games or anything. I understand, being somewhat of a leader of a team, just how powerful coach's words are.”

Supreme coach Gary Franklin made it known early that tardiness would not be tolerated, yet benching the star 6-foot-9 forward – who will soon begin his junior year – could not have come easy. Could it?

“It's hard, but you try to have guys treated the same way,” said Franklin, whose team – helped by Tyler's contributions – would go on to win the Under-17 Platinum Division last weekend. “Nobody can get preferential treatment. But it's a time issue, everybody has to be here on time. If not, there will be those consequences.”

When Tyler did play, he barely resembled the player who scored 23 points in San Diego's 74-68 overtime win over El Camino in the San Diego Section Division I championship game in February. Then, Tyler grew frustrated when he wasn't involved in the offense.

At the Main Event Tournament, he was willing to play a secondary roll in the offense, getting most of his looks on second-chance rebounds and frequently bouncing out to the perimeter to open the lane for penetrating guards.

“In high school, I'm used to getting the ball so much and doing my thing,” Tyler said. “Here, I've got guys who can do the same thing. I'm going to let them do what they do, and I'll get the rebounds. Whatever it takes to win.”

Unlike many of the other 2,000-plus AAU players in Las Vegas this past week taking part in three tournaments – the Reebok Summer Championship, the adidas Super64 and Vision Sports' Main Event – Tyler is not starving for attention. As basketball recruiting begins younger and younger, players such as Tyler have already made their marks.

Tyler is using the AAU circuit to work on his mental game.

“I just see it as a chance to play hard,” he said. “It doesn't matter who's in the stands watching me. This is just for me. I need to keep my temper, keep my cool just for me. I'm not staying calm for anybody but me. I already know the pressure of performing, the kind of people who are going to come at me.”

Franklin said Tyler has done a good job of handling the accompanying pressure, of staying within himself and not letting his frustration – or the hype – get to him.

“I think he's responded to it well,” Franklin said. “For the most part, when other people try to look at it as he's trying too hard or he wants it too bad, I don't even think it's that. I think it's him, himself, wanting to compete.”