The outer confidence rarely evaporates.

Lakers rookie guard Andrew Goudelock boasts proudly yet humbly that his strong outside shooting he posted in four years as a shooting guard at the College of Charleston will translate in the NBA. Yet, Goudelock has felt the inward confidence wave. It was only last week when Goudelock admitted feeling insecure on his standing.

"I was starting to break down," Goudelock said. "I didn't know what was going to happen. Will I be on the team? Will they cut me? I don't know."

That's why he made multiple phone calls to his parents, to his college coach, Bobby Kremins, and to his agent, Austin Walton. He also confided his insecurities with fellow rookie Darius Morris, whose future also remained uncertain.

Goudelock feels more relief now that he remains on the team after the Lakers dwindled their roster to 15 players. But the first year of his two-year nonguaranteed contract hardly proves binding until Feb. 15. So after Goudelock made his preseason debut last week against the Clippers and his regular-season debut Sunday against Chicago, the Lakers rookie remains determined not to allow any uncertainty to derail his outward and inward confidence anymore. 

"I talked to Derek Fisher and he said, 'Never let anybody see you sweat,'" Goudelock said. "That's what I tried to do. Even if I was worried, even if I was a little down, you weren't going to see it. So I was out here fighting, battling, going at the guys like they were going at me."

The Lakers keep making changes, just not the big ones fans are expecting.

They will send rookie guard Andrew Goudelock and training camp invitee Marcus Thomas to the D-Fenders in time to play in Saturday's game at the team's practice facility against Bakersfield. The Lakers then plan to recall them for Sunday's practice.

Goudelock doesn't have to worry about packing his bags too far. He's stayed in the Hilton Garden Inn a few minutes from the Lakers' practice facility in El Segundo, the same place that hosts the D-Fenders games this season.

"We're moving so fast," Goudelock said at the team's media day, and that's why he's holding off to find housing until the season starts. "It's a lot different. It was like a whirlwind for me. I didn't know what was going on."

The Lakers signed Goudelock to a two-year deal at the rookie's minimum and hold a team option for his second year, hoping that his sharp-shooting will address the Lakers' perimeter offense. He averaged 23.7 points on 45.5% shooting as a senior last season at the College of Charleston, continuing a pattern in which he increased his scoring average by at least three points and set a school record in points (2,571) and fourth-best in assists (424). He shot 40.7% from three-point range, suggesting he should already bolster the Lakers' 35.2% average from last season.

"The most important thing is remembering the plays and know what I need to do defensively, "so I get on the court," said Goudelock.

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Lakers going after point guards in second-round draft picks

--Mark Medina

E-mail the Lakers blog at mgmedin@gmail.com

Three times over the last week and a half of training camp, the Lakers have worked out twice a day, for three hours.

On Wednesday, after a 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. practice, rookie Andrew Goudelock sat on a chair wiping streaming beads of sweat off of his face with a towel. He described how the Lakers had to run up and down the court as many times as they could in 12 seconds, a seemingly never ending drill.

"It's tough," said Goudelock, whom the Lakers drafted with the 46th overall pick. "It's a lot of drills, it's a lot of scrimmaging, it's back and forth, back and forth. It really gets to you."

In just two short hours, the team would be at it again.

"A lot of the stuff we do is competition so, if you lose, unfortunately, you got to run for it," he said. "Whenever you lose you have to run sprints, down and back, down and back. The guys don't really like that too much so that's why you got to win."

Goudelock is a silky shooter who averaged 23.7 points and 4.2 assists a game last season at the College of Charleston. At 6-foot-3, he's the second shortest player on the team next to Derek Fisher, so he knows that he needs to be quick.

When asked who typically wins the sprint drills, he said, "I think I'm the fastest on the court. I might be the smallest, so I like to think I'm the fastest."

Goudelock, however, said that on the Lakers, there are no stragglers.

"I was surprised by everybody," he said. "Everybody gets up and down the floor, even the big fellas, Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol.

"Their legs are so long, they only have to take like four steps."

In the video above, Goudelock said two-a-days with the Lakers is "definitely" the hardest workout that he's ever done. In an attempt to impress the coaching staff and secure a spot on the roster, he said he shows up to the team's practice facility about an hour before each work out and goes full throttle the entire time.

"We're really trying to get the grasp on things quickly here," he said.

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-- Melissa Rohlin

The Lakers roster that takes the floor at Staples Center on Christmas could look a lot like the one that shows up when training camp starts a week from Friday.

General Manager Mitch Kupchak said Friday during a media conference at the team's training facility in El Segundo that he would be "very limited" as far as bringing in free agents. Depending on whether shooting guard Shannon Brown decides to re-sign with the team, the Lakers could target a guard and forward in free agency but have limited options to acquire them.

They can use the so-called mini mid-level exception of three years and $9.4 million as well as a veteran's minimum of $1 million, leaving the Lakers hoping that quality players will want to come to Los Angeles for other reasons besides money.

"We're hopeful there's a player out there who's made money in his career and is on the back end and is looking at a championship, or a player who is developing," Kupchak said. "That's harder to do."

Kupchak said he did not anticipate that Theo Ratliff or Joe Smith would be returning to the roster, but he confirmed that he had been in contact with Brown's agent. The Lakers can exercise team options on second-year players Devin Ebanks and Derrick Caracter and must decide whether to sign second-round draft picks Darrius Morris and Andrew Goudelock.

Kupchak almost sounded resigned to losing Brown, who has been a free agent at the end of each of his seasons with the Lakers and has explored more lucrative offers elsewhere.

"My guess is, you can only continue to do that for such a period of time where it doesn't make any more sense," Kupchak said, "so I would think this year he would look for and probably get a package that's financially much more attractive than we could offer under the present rules."

Morris, Derek Fisher and Matt Barnes were among the Lakers who stopped by the team's training facility for informal workouts Friday. Coach Mike Brown briefly hailed Fisher from across the court before smiling and putting his finger to his lips, a nod to the fact that coaches are not supposed to speak with players before the NBA lockout formally ends.

With only 16 days to hold practices before the Lakers' opener, the coach said he would try not to overwhelm his players. And what would he call Metta World Peace?

"I might just call him Metta or Met," Brown said. "I don't want to call him Peace, because he might think that's grounds for him to leave practice."

We'll have more later at www.latimes.com/sports.

-- Ben Bolch

Photo: "We believe in this group," Mitch Kupchak says of the current Lakers roster. Credit: Richard Hartog / Los Angeles Times

After spending most of his summer working out, finishing his degree and offering training sessions at his alma mater, Lakers rookie guard Andrew Goudelock will soon enter the next phase of his life.

He plans to finish his final exams at College of Charleston on Dec. 7th, arrive in Los Angeles on the 8th and then begin training camp on the 9th. Where Goudelock stands with the team once he enters the Lakers' practice facility remains unclear, considering he's an unsigned rookie. 

Talks haven't formally taken place yet since the NBA ended its lockout. But Goudelock's agent, Austin Walton, remains optimistic that his client will land a roster spot. 

"If everything stays intact with their roster," Walton said," I feel pretty good where he is in making the team based on the conversations we have had when he was drafted."

It remains unclear how the Lakers' roster will look now up through their season opener Christmas Day against the Chicago Bulls. The Lakers have plenty of unsigned players, including Shannon Brown, Devin Ebanks, Derrick Caracter, Joe Smith and Theo Ratliff. They can exercise the so-called amnesty clause by shedding ties with Metta World Peace (three years, $21.5 million) or Luke Walton (two years, $11.46 million). Free agency beginning on Dec. 9 will also contribute to the frantic environment leading to opening day.

Still, Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak told The Times' Mike Bresnahan that both rookies Darius Morris and Goudelock "probably deserve a chance to be looked at, and [they] have promise." 

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— Mark Medina

Email the Lkaers blog at mgmedin@gmail.com

Photo credit : Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times

Lakers who shouldn't play overseas

Kobe Bryant -- As stated numerous times, there's no value for Bryant to risk injury by playing overseas. Save any barnstorming exceptions, Bryant should simply rest no matter how long the NBA lockout lasts.

Pau Gasol -- He'll remain in Spain for most of the lockout, and I'm told he remains noncommital on any plans until the NBA officially cancels the entire season. But Gasol would be better off just continuing his training with FC Barcelona and then resting. 

Andrew Bynum -- Bynum's finally enjoyed a full off-season injury-free. It's allowed him to box and work on his post moves. Going overseas would only increase the chances his knees would fail him again.

Derek Fisher -- Even if he doesn't have a direct role in NBA lockout negotiations anymore, he'd still need to be around as a sounding board.

Metta World Peace -- It's unlikely Ron Ron can actually spread world peace. His agent, David Bauman, has remained skeptical in shipping him off because he hasn't been able to get insurance. Risking three years on his $21.8-million contract isn't worth it.

By Christmas time, it's possible Lakers guard Andrew Goudelock will have at least one gift to add to his holiday wish list.

Finding a professional gig overseas. Should the NBA fail to reach a new collective bargaining agreement by then, Goudelock's agent, Austin Walton, said he will aggressively pursue those options. He has good reason to think that might happen considering the players union disbanded and the NBA formally announced it has canceled its games through Dec. 15. 

"There might not be an option if 30 guys sign from now and then. I don't know how people will react to the news [Monday]," said Walton, who represents Goudelock through Walton Sports Management Group. "We'll see. Maybe we'll have the options that we had earlier and we'll revisit those."

Either way, Walton has shifted his strategy regarding Goudelock's off-season ventures because of the lockout. Walton said in late August that he declined eight overseas offers for Goudelock because most of them didn't have opt-out clauses that would allow him to join the Lakers if part of the 2011-2012 NBA season was salvaged. Goudelock also declined offers, including ones from CB Lucentum Alicante of the Spanish professional basketball league Liga ACB [link in Spanish] and from the Skyliners Frankfurt of Germany's Basketball Bundesliga [link in Germany], because he planned to finish his sociology degree at the College of Charleston. With Goudelock's semester ending Dec. 18, Walton believes pursuing overseas options for the Lakers rookie guard after Christmas seems reasonable since he's likely going to visit family during the holidays.

For now, Goudelock's compensated for lacking an NBA contract in other ways. Walton said Goudelock signed a two-year endorsement deal with the Chinese shoe company, Peak, which will give him an unspecified amount of money and unlimited apparel. Goudelock said earlier this month that he's taught personal training sessions to Cougar athletes to help pay for his college expenses. And lastly, Walton said Goudelock also appeared in a number of unspecified autograph signings. 

"We're still staying the course," said Walton, who added Goudelock also received offers from teams in Turkey and France. "He's not serious up to this point, but we'll route it out."

RELATED:

Andrew Goudelock won't go overseas without opt-out clause

Andrew Goudelock preparing to help out at point guard

--Mark Medina

Email the Lakers blog at mgmedin@gmail.com

Photo: Andrew Goudelock. Credit : Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times

Every offseason workout involves some variation regarding the Lakers' shooting.

Guard Steve Blake spent part of his summer altering the arc of his shot. Forwards Matt Barnes and Devin Ebanks as well as rookie guard Darius Morris said their main focus this offseason involved shooting. Though rookie Andrew Goudelock has mostly concentrated on improving his ballhandling and shooting, he said he still takes at least 1,000 shots per day. That doesn't include the likelihood that Kobe Bryant, Derek Fisher and, yes, even Metta World Peace have focused on last season's outside shooting inconsistency as well.

Offseason workouts should always be taken with a grain of salt. After all, when is the last time you heard an athlete admit they gained weight, regressed and took it easy during the offseason? Exactly zero. But I find it highly possible that the Lakers can improve their outside shooting collectively from last year's numbers. Then, the  Lakers shot 35.2% from the three-point range in the regular season, 28.9% in the postseason  and 37.5% from shots from within 16-23 feet, according to Hoopdata. It's not a stretch to think Bryant (32.3%) will improve his shot after a prolonged restful offseason. The improvements individually may not seem like much. But any uptick from Fisher (39.6), Blake (37.8%) and World Peace (35.6%) could be vital. Small contributions from Ebanks, Goudelock and Morris would also help. 

The words are instilled in Andrew Goudelock's head: "Be confident, but don't be cocky."

The Lakers rookie guard largely credits that philosophy with producing a pattern in which he increased his scoring average over four years at the College of Charleston by at least three points, set a school record in points (2,571) and became fourth-best in assists (424).

And it's a philosophy that could help him in the future. The balance could help him the Lakers draftee fit in with a championship-laden team. Mixing humility with his confidence could prevent rubbing veteran teammates the wrong way. Maintaining the two could help him overcome any transition to the NBA, while remaining mindful of the learning curve.  

How it all plays out won't be known until the NBA lockout ends. For now, Goudelock' is finishing up on a sociology degree at the College of Charleston, providing personal training for students and practicing with the Cougars team. But mainly he's following the Lakers' pre-lockout instructions, preparing for a possible point guard role and enhancing his defense.

"They didn't draft me to be a shooting guard," Goudelock said in a phone interview. "That's what a lot of people think. Hopefully, I can show people I can make good decisions with passing the ball and keeping everyone involved. People know me for my shooting, but at this stage of my playing career, what will get me on the court is what I do defensively."

This is the 14th post in a series focusing on five things each Lakers player must do to have a successful 2011-12 season (assuming there is one, of course).

1. Maintain strong outside shooting. With the Lakers' poor outside shooting last season, Andrew Goudelock may actually become the team's best option. The Lakers shot 35.2% from three-point range in the regular season, while Goudelock went 40.7% from downtown his senior season at College of Charleston. Goudelock touts his ability to score in a variety of ways, including off the dribble and off of screens, a critical skill set considering NBA competition will prove tougher.  

Goudelock's outside shooting also represents the most realistic way he can both help the Lakers and establish his own niche. That would do wonders for a team that needs more support to relieve pressure from Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum. 

2. Don't let confidence become abrasive. Goudelock boasted before and after the NBA draft that "I'm going to be able to shoot until the day I die." Dude surely doesn't lack confidence, which may prove to be a mixed blessing depending on how he exudes it. That confidence should help his outside shooting and propel him to a definitive bench role, but it might rub some veterans the wrong way. Throwing in a humble attitude will help him in the long run.