So they are practicing short-time inbounds plays, down at the far end of The King’s Court on the campus of Concordia Theological Seminary. Roderick Wilmont has the basketball. He’s got three seconds to scrub his man off a high screen, turn and shoot.

Let The Rod Show begin.

Let Wilmont, first of all, scrub his man off the high screen, turn and drop the jumper straight down the throat, smooth as spun honey. Then let him race to the far end of the floor, point his finger toward the door and shout “Let’s get outta here!” Then let him watch his Fort Wayne Mad Ants teammate, Oliver Lafayette, scrub his man off the screen and bottom the shot, too.

How about that, Rod?

“Not many people can do what ‘O’ and I did,” Wilmont cracks, to an amused and attentive audience of teammates and coaches. “Me … Kobe … LeBron …”

He’ll be here all week, folks. Try the veal.

Better yet, try reconciling this Wilmont with the Wilmont who was a rookie guard with the Ants two seasons ago, fresh out of Indiana and with not much more than a dependable jump shot to recommend him.

“So how much more do you know about the pro game now?” a visitor asks.

“Oh, man, so much,” Wilmont says. “The game is a lot simpler than my first year coming out. Everything was such a rush-rush, hurry-hurry. … Now I’m not just a jump shooter anymore. And I’ve learned a lot about just making the game come to me.”

Fifty games with the Ants in 2007-08, plus a full season playing in Italy and Turkey last year, does seem to have the 6-oot-4, 215-pound Wilmont in a different place. He returns as a veteran presence, exuding assurance and a sense of knowing the ropes. The D-League gave him his elementary education in the pro game; playing in Europe conferred his doctorate.

“It expanded my game to another level,” he says. “Over there, especially in Italy, everybody can play. Everybody, from one through the five, can shoot. So you have to guard everybody. It’s just a totally different game.”

A for-instance: Because there’s no defensive three-second call overseas, Wilmont had to learn to slash to the rim and finish through two, three, sometimes four players, almost all of them bigs. In the D-League, that’s not the case.

“Here, when you drive, you’ve got more room,” Wilmont says. “It’s not so cluttered. Everything is spaced out. It makes it a lot more easy.”

And what does his presence do for Mad Ants coach Joey Meyer?

“Well, it’s a lot less quiet around here now,” Meyer says wryly.

But seriously …

“No, he brings a lot of enthusiasm, a lot of energy,” he goes on. “This team’s a real quiet team, and he brings that bounce to practice and to games which I think can help us.

“He’ll make some plays that (will make) whatever hair I have left fall out, but he’ll make some hustle plays, too. I think he gives a little more quickness and a little more defense.”

That’s been a continued point of emphasis this week for the Ants, after two losses out in Iowa last weekend. Wilmont, meanwhile, focuses on being the veteran presence (“I just try to pass on my learning experience, because I’ve been out already,” he says) and trying to get to the next level, like everyone else.

“You know, if a call-up happens, it happens,” says Wilmont, who has averaged 25.5 minutes, 12.0 points and 4.0 rebounds in two games so far. “It’s a blessing. But that’s all God’s will.

“Everybody can’t come into this league thinking they’re gonna get a call-up. It’s not gonna happen. It’s just got to be your time.”

bensmith@jg.net