ORLANDO, Fla. — He was a high school All-American.

He was the national college player of the year.

He was a first-round draft pick.

He is on the roster of the U.S. national team.

But now J.J. Redick is in a most unfamiliar role.

He is a benchwarmer.

This has been a tough month for Redick, a former Cave Spring and Duke star who is a rookie guard with the Orlando Magic.

Entering Friday night’s game at Portland, Redick had appeared in only one of the Magic’s first 16 games.

His NBA playing time has consisted of just 3:27 of garbage time in a rout of Atlanta last Saturday. In the two games since, he didn’t leave the bench.

“It’s frustrating, not playing,” Redick said last Saturday before making his debut. “I’ve never been on a team where I haven’t played.

“It’s a little bit of a conundrum because I’m such a competitive person that I want so badly just to be out there playing.”

Even being a millionaire doesn’t take the sting away.

“I love playing so much that it hasn’t been as fun,” said Redick, the 11th pick in the NBA Draft last June.

Orlando (12-4) has one of the best records in the NBA, but Redick wishes he were making more of a contribution.

“I like the feeling of being a part of a win. And when you don’t play, it’s nice to win, but you don’t get that same feeling,” he said.

Too many guards

Redick’s former Duke teammate and fellow 2006 first-round draft pick, Shelden Williams, started at forward for the lowly Hawks last Saturday.

But Redick is stuck behind three other off-guards on the Magic, all NBA veterans — converted forward Grant Hill, Keith Bogans and Keyon Dooling. Sometimes the Magic even plays point guards Jameer Nelson and Carlos Arroyo at the same time.

“It’s a good thing and a bad thing that he got drafted by the Magic,” Orlando assistant coach Randy Ayers said. “It’s a good thing in that we have a lot of wing players he can learn from. It’s a bad thing in that we have a lot of wing players he can learn from. He’s going to have to be patient, and we’re going to have be patient with him.”

“I’m kind of just the odd man out right now,” Redick said.

But Redick figures “an opportunity will arise somehow.” So he works to stay “in whatever resemblance of shape” he can, and tries to figure out how he can improve even if he can’t get in games.

He makes 200 shots every day before practice. He takes more shots after practice. He takes part in three-on-three or one-on-one sessions before pregame shootarounds. Last Saturday, a few hours before the game, he played in a three-on-three game with some teammates and coaches on one part of the TD Waterhouse Centre court, while the Magic dancers practiced on another part.

The two-time first-team All-American was the leading scorer in ACC history and broke the NCAA career record for 3-pointers, but he is trying to prove himself all over again.

“Whatever I did at Duke … isn’t meaningless, it still holds a special place in my heart, but for what I’m doing now, it doesn’t amount to a hill of beans,” said Redick, who has graduated from Duke.

Under NBA rules, only 12 players on a team’s 15-man roster can be on the active list for a game. The list can change from game to game. The players on the inactive list must dress in a suit instead of a uniform when they sit on or behind the bench.

Redick was on the active list for only six of the team’s first 16 games — the second game of the season (Nov. 3), and the past five. He was moved back on the active list last week because forward Pat Garrity is injured.

“He’s learning, and he will play. I say that to you that way because I say it to him that way,” said Ayers, a former Philadelphia 76ers and Ohio State coach. “Everybody wants to play major minutes right away, and that’s not the way the game is played.

“He wants to be on the floor every ticking second, so it eats him up that he’s not on the floor.”

Injuries hurt development

Redick, who never missed a game during his Duke career, suffered back and foot injuries which set him back with Orlando.

“I did fall behind,” he said. “I’ve worked as hard as possible to catch back up, and feel good about where I’m at.”

He didn’t play for Orlando’s summer-league team because of a herniated disc in his back. So he didn’t have that chance to get used to the speed of the NBA game, or to learn the Magic’s plays and defensive schemes.

That injury also kept him from competing in the July tryouts for the U.S. team that played in the World Championships, although he will remain on the USA Basketball roster for two more years.

His back had healed by September. But in late September, he was injured again. One week before training camp began, Redick tore tissue on the ball of his left foot during a pickup game in Orlando. It was similar to the injury he suffered as a Cave Spring senior, when he tore the plantar fascia tissue in his right foot.

Redick still played in the first two days of practices at camp but wound up aggravating the injury. He was again sidelined.

He couldn’t regain his shooting rhythm. He couldn’t learn how to deal with the athleticism and physical defense of the NBA.

He was able to play in just two of the Magic’s eight exhibition games, and failed to score in either one.

“I missed basically all of October, which is a time where you can actually get rookies out on the court and have them kind of grow a little,” Redick said. “It took me until about the end of October to get back to being healthy.

“I still don’t think they know what I can do.”

Ups and downs

Last Saturday, in the team’s 14th game, the Magic was up by 22 points when Redick made his NBA debut in the waning minutes of the game. Magic fans, who had chanted, “We want J.J.” early in the fourth quarter, stood and roared when he entered the game. Redick made a 22-foot jumper for his first NBA basket in the 95-82 win over Atlanta.

“At this point, I’ll take what I can get and just keep working hard, and hopefully I’ll play meaningful minutes at some point in time,” he said after the win.

“What he does in practice and what he does in the minutes he does get will determine how much time he plays,” Magic coach Brian Hill said after the game. “I’m sure, with his ability to shoot the ball, he’s going to see more minutes.”

Magic general manager Otis Smith said Redick must learn how much he can crowd foes defensively, and how he can get his shot off quicker.

“He’s just got to keep adjusting to the speed of the game,” Smith said. “Once that happens, I think he’s going to be fine.”

“J.J. missed so much time … that he’s just rounding back in form right now,” Hill said. “When you start that far behind the 8-ball like Jay did, it makes it harder. I’m going to try to get him opportunities out there.”

Ayers said he’s not overly concerned about whether Redick can get his shot off or defend. He said Redick will have a fine career.

“There’s a premium on outside shooting, and J.J.’s going to be one of those guys for us … if we have to stretch the floor a little bit,” said Ayers. “J.J. will be a player in this league for years to come.”

Redick has had practices where he has hit shots with regularity, and he has had practices where he wants to crawl into a hole because he isn’t playing well.

He feels like a Duke freshman again.

“You’re going to have your ups and downs,” he said. “Hopefully there will start being more ups for me than downs, because there’s been downs.

“I’m living my dream. The dream’s not gone exactly how I’d want it to right now, but it’s a long season and hopefully I’ll have a long career.”