Legs balanced, arms extended, Mike Sherry shifted his feet as quickly as he could, absorbing the wooden surface at the Greentree Sportsplex less and less with every intricate step he took.

Sherry, a former Chartiers Valley High School standout and current starter at Clarion University, had fixated himself in the very same defensive stance thousands of times in the past, but the adversary he typically stood across from rarely, if ever, had been like this.

This wasn't a talented shooting guard from Blackhawk or even an all-conference forward from Lock Haven. No, this was Joe Mazzulla. The same Joe Mazzulla who is a burgeoning star point guard at West Virginia University, one who nearly pulled off a triple-double -- 13 points, 11 rebounds and 8 assists -- in the Mountaineers upset of Duke in last season's NCAA tournament.

"It's not everyday you get to go against Joe Mazzulla," he said.

Sherry then paused, and added, "This is the stuff I'm talking about. This is the type of experience that really helps you out."

It was just another day at the office for Sherry, who has immersed himself in quite a number of these experiences the past month while playing in the Pittsburgh Basketball Club Pro-Am Summer League for the second consecutive year.

Sherry is one of a plethora of district athletes competing in the month-long league run by director John Giammarco. The rosters of the six teams involved are filled with players from Pitt, West Virginia, Duquesne and Robert Morris.

Sherry, who plays on a team that includes Pitt stars DeJuan Blair and Levance Fields, said he is soaking up every second of the action.

"The experience is what counts," he said. "It's something different. There's a reason they're at the level they're at."

Heading into his sophomore season at Clarion, Sherry is hoping his "summer vacation" -- he's holding his own in the league, by the way -- will springboard him to an even better campaign.

As a freshman, Sherry exceeded most expectations, including his own, by starting all 27 games and leading the Golden Eagles in scoring with 12.3 points per game average, second among Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference freshman. Sherry also made more 3-pointers (72) than all but one player in the PSAC, helping him earn second-team All-PSAC Western Division honors.

"I went up there not with really any expectations," Sherry said. "Obviously, I wanted to play. But I got inserted in the starting lineup from day one, and I just saw the opportunity in front of me and I had no choice but to jump on it."

Sort of what like he is doing again. Sherry said his chief objectives prior to beginning practice in the fall are getting stronger and improving his ballhandling skills. At 6-foot-1, 180 pounds, Sherry isn't the biggest guy around, and while there's no question he can shoot, an added threat of being able to regularly penetrate the lane would unquestionably raise his play a notch.

"Last year I got a lot of points off of just moving around and shooting 3s and working and getting jump shots. This year I'd like to concentrate more on going to the basket a lot more and trying to get to the foul line a lot more," Sherry said.