By now, the rookies have played the equivalent of a full college season. With three months of the regular season yet to go, it's not uncommon for mental and physical fatigue to set in.

Rookies Joe Alexander and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute of the Milwaukee Bucks appear to be relatively unaffected, though. Alexander really hasn't played enough to be affected by "the wall" and Mbah a Moute, who has played in every game and is averaging 26 minutes per game, realizes the importance of taking good care of himself.

"I'll start feeling fatigued sometimes but that just means I have to take care of my body," Mbah a Moute said. "Get in the treatment room, get some ice and all that type of stuff. Make sure I take care of my body. But I really haven't felt anything (bad), to tell you the truth. It's just sometimes after the games, I'm tired. So you just have to get your rest and get your body right and everything is good after that."

The Bucks expect their rookies to continue making strides in learning the pro game and so far are satisfied with the progress of both players. Mbah a Moute has received plenty of on-the-job training, as he and forward Richard Jefferson are the only two on the team to have played in every game. Among the league's rookies, he is 16th in scoring (7.7 points per game), sixth in rebounding (6.3) and third in steals (1.05).

But it's his defense that gets him playing time.

"He's good," coach Scott Skiles said. "Some nights, he's very good. On the ball there are times when he's way above average. Off the ball, he's still learning. We've had a couple games this year where in the same game, he's guarded Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce . . . so he's guarded the other team's two or three best players at times in the same game. So we think that highly of him that he can do that.

"But like a lot of rookies, there's some up and down periods and I think once get gets a couple laps around the league, you'll see him get even better on that end of the floor. We'll keep putting him on the other team's good players and hope for the best."

Mbah a Moute did hit a bit of a lull earlier this season, especially in road games.

"On nights when - like all players, let alone a rookie - for whatever reason he doesn't have the same amount of energy on the defensive end, then generally we put an offensive player out there," Skiles said. "But he's been very consistent, especially for a rookie. He's been one of our most consistent energy guys."

Alexander has played in 27 games and is averaging 4.1 points in 12 minutes per game. He gets his work in at practice and then by staying afterward to do more with assistant coaches. Alexander is one of the first players on the court a couple of hours before game time to get in a workout with the assistant coaches.

What has made it difficult for Alexander is that there has been so little practice time because of the team's busy schedule.

"He's still learning," Skiles said. "We're doing individual workouts with him when we get a chance. Guys that aren't playing many minutes go three-on-three, those kinds of things. And then even when we have a practice, it's not like we scrimmage for an hour and a half where he can really get full court work in.

"So we have to find our times when we can get him into a game. When we get practice time, we have to take advantage of it and keep working with him. We feel like he's getting better but it's hard for him to show anything when I throw him out there for 4 minutes. But that's a situation that a lot of rookies are in."

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