Today, you know him as a high-flying highlight reel poised to be an annual NBA Slam Dunk Contest candidate. True story: Russell Westbrook wasn't even able to dunk until his senior year at Leuzinger High School (Lawndale, California).

"My first dunk was in high school - my senior year. We were playing against a rival school of ours, packed house, you know. I got a steal and didn't think I was going to make it actually. I just went up and jumped as high as I could. I was REALLY excited - I knew it would give our team momentum and get us going. The most important thing was that we won the game."

Arriving at that heightened highlight took years of hard work.

"I was always kind of short. Then I got lucky and grew a couple of inches, but I had already been working really hard. So I just continued to work. And you've got to know and realize that you might not see (growth) within a couple of months. It took me years - but then it happened at the right time."

Russell wanted to make sure that if he ever got into that rarefied air, he had what it took to stay there.

"(Mastering) the fundamentals is so important. And it's important because as you go up in levels of competition, you're not just going to be able to dunk it every time. So if if you grow or even if you are blessed to be able to explode like that, as the people you play against get better you're going to have to be able to do something else. At some point, you're going to have to figure out how to score below the rim using floaters and different kinds of layups."

This late-bloomer exploded as a senior, averaging 25.1 points, 8.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. He recorded 14 double-doubles and eight games with 30 or more points - including a career high 51 - in leading his team to the state quarterfinals.

"It meant so much to me, especially for my (high) school. I guess you could say we were both kind of below the radar, and me going out there and getting better with my team, we put the school on the map. It was really helpful to the community - and it was fun."

The Long Beach Press-Telegram honored Russell with a spot on their "Best in the West" team. Scout.com labeled him the second-best shooting guard in the West.

"It really came down to staying confident. Especially when I became the 'go-to' guy and I knew the ball was coming to me. I tried not to force the issue, to basically let the game come to me. I knew I was the 'go-to-guy,' so the ball was always going to come my way. I just had to be ready."

And if things didn't go his way?

"Just continuing to work. It was hard if I had a bad game or if we lost. But just about every time, if I went and worked out on the court, I started to feel better. Getting better became how I stayed confident, stayed ready to play and was able to bounce back from anything."

A Southern California kid, Russell was happy to accept a scholarship offer at nearby UCLA. But amidst a stacked roster, he needed to find a new niche.

"I was trying to really work on my defense, especially coming out of high school (being known) as a scorer, I wanted to be prepared to guard people at the next level. To be able to stay in front of guys. And that came down to me really working on my legs, working out a lot more, focusing on lateral movement - both in the weight room and on the court."

Russell began to elevate his level of play.

"The most important thing is staying focused. Focusing in on what you're doing - whatever it is you want to do in life. Know your goals and then you don't let anything stop you. If you want to play, coach - even if it doesn't have anything to do with basketball - just continue to work hard at it and the result will happen. It might not happen as quickly as you would like, though. Mine sure didn't. But in the long run, it's worth it."

Even if you have to wait.

"Playing behind an established guy meant that I had to be very patient. But at the same time, I was always watching and learning. And working. Working on my game while being patient and learning - because you never know when your name is going to get called. So I was just trying to get better and work hard in practice, giving it 100% - I knew eventually I'd get my chance."

But when it did, it came with a little twist. With the starting point guard injured, Russell was forced to shift positions.

"It was very important to me to show people that I could be versatile. There were a lot of people questioning my ability to play the point - so going in I knew that I had to be extremely focused, run my team and win some games."

Russell just kind of, sort of, knew he was ready.

"I has been working SO hard. Just continuing to stay in the weight room, in the gym working on my game. Basically, I took what I had done my entire basketball life and expanded it. Stepped it up another level. And just got better. Playing more than one position is based on what type of player you are, what type of attitude you have and how good you really want to be. I just wanted to play - on the ball, off the ball, period."

Putting the team's needs first paid off in a big way. His stellar play on a pair of Final Four teams catapulted Russell into the NBA Draft Lottery.

"I always thought 'Team Goal.' Individual goals are basically something that you just put to the side. Team goals - especially when you're on that team - that's what's going to help you achieve your individual goals anyways."

That year spent mostly watching, waiting and learning played a role, too.

"Coming out of high school, just going to college is kind of different in and of itself. But then to have to wait to play, well, it ended up being a good experience for me. Just watching in practice and not playing as much forced me to learn how the coach wanted it done."

And as the point man on the team, perhaps no lesson paid off more for Russell.

"You know a coaches have a lot of different styles of play. And people like to say 'that doesn't fit the players' or whatever. But I think it's very important to stay focused on what the coach is trying to do with the team. Because the bottom line is: if you play within the team and achieve your goals together, all the individual stuff will come with that to. And if you want to make it to the next level, you've got to achieve those goals."