He starts in the weight room for an hour, then does some light shooting before practice begins. Once it ends, Araujo hangs around for another hour, going through shooting drills and working on his post moves with an assistant coach.

The net result of that dedication? Araujo played in a total of 28 games in his first season with the Jazz, averaging 2.6 points and 2.4 rebounds. He saw just 248 minutes of game action, which amounts to less time than he spent at the practice facility Tuesday.

Yet Araujo views the work he puts in and example he sets as the way to secure his future in basketball. Come early, stay late, work like a ditch digger, and eventually you will be rewarded.

"Some days you don't want to come, but that's the day you've got to come,'' Araujo said. "Because if you break that routine, it's easy to break the next day and the next day, and then before you know it, you just give up."

Although he is an unrestricted free agent, Araujo is in town to play with the Jazz's Rocky Mountain Revue team. At long last, the 6-foot-11 center will get the minutes to show what he can do, auditioning not just for the Jazz but also for the NBA's other 29 teams.

"Anytime you get the opportunity to play, you generally help yourself, not hurt yourself,'' said Kevin O'Connor, the Jazz's senior vice president of basketball operations.

Little has gone right for Araujo since he was drafted No. 8 overall by Toronto in 2004. Now the Brigham Young product is trying to prove he deserves a new contract, and possibly a greater role, at an age when he should be nearly fully developed as a player.

He again voiced his desire to return to Utah - "I want to be here, definitely" - and described the interest of other teams as being mostly talk, as opposed to concrete offers.

Araujo, who turns 27 in August, has support in the Jazz's front office, with O'Connor citing coach Jerry Sloan's belief that players who work hard get better.

"That part of it has never been a problem,'' Sloan said of Araujo. "His work habits have never been a problem.

"It's just what's out here on the floor, adjusting to situation basketball, and that's the thing that he has to be able to do, because otherwise we can't run all over the place trying to wait for somebody to get in their spot."

The Jazz hope Araujo will show more comfort in the offense and gain some confidence during the Revue. Sloan said he sees some of himself in Araujo, remembering how anxious he once was as a player. "I couldn't remember where I was going,'' Sloan said.

Just getting minutes will be a change for Araujo, who has played in the equivalent of 33 full games in his three-year career.

"I'm going to be doing the same thing I've been doing, like helping defense, doing the little things, because that's what I like to do,'' Araujo said. "That's my game. When I have the chance, when I have possession inside the paint, I'm going to be aggressive. First of all, just keep doing the simple stuff."

Araujo already has spent much of the offseason training in Santa Barbara, Calif., trying to get faster and stronger. Everything, it seems, comes back to those hours in the gym.

"That's myself and that's how I do it,'' Araujo said. "It's a job, right? Everybody goes to work every day, got to do the best they can to succeed and move on in their job. That's the same way I think it is."

rsiler@sltrib.com

Rocky Mountain Revue

* Friday through July 21 at Salt Lake Community College's Life Time Activities Center

* Games will be played at 3 p.m., 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. daily with no games on Sunday

or July 19.