What's different about Jason Williams? Are you kidding? What hasn't changed about the Kings' second-year point guard? He's bald, for starters. Clipped that brown mop-top right off a few days ago. And he added another tattoo in the offseason -- a phrase written in Japanese on the underside of his right forearm, though he's keeping mum on what it says.

Williams has bulked up a bit, too. The 23-year-old has never liked lifting weights, he said, but for the past five weeks he has been pumping iron like never before, hoping to add some strength and stamina.

And the kid has grown up some. But that's what a whirlwind first tour of duty will do for a guy. Roughly eight months after his first NBA preseason media day, Williams was holding court before the media Friday like a seasoned veteran -- relaxed, whimsical and armed with a few clichs. Totally at ease with who he has become. Or who he has always been.

"Me as a person, I haven't changed. I'm the same person inside," said Williams, whose arrival last season was overshadowed next to those of Chris Webber, Vlade Divac and coach Rick Adelman. "The way I have to do things now, like meeting with the media, or when I go out in public, that's the only thing that's really different.

"But me as a person, I haven't changed."

Well, guess what? The expectations have. Williams' stint as the NBA's rookie sensation/media darling ended with a playoff loss to Utah last spring. He can no longer be considered an overachiever or a surprise.

This season, the sophomore, like the rest of his team, will kindly be asked to put up or shut up.

Williams' response: "I can't wait."

On the surface, it seems, Williams should have nowhere to go but up. Last season, the odds were against him. There was virtually no preseason for him to adjust. He was thrown into the starting lineup from Day 1, playing nearly 40 minutes a game nearly four nights a week. And he had not even played so much as a full college season in two years after being dismissed from the University of Florida team in the 1997-98 season.

But cynical eyes will be watching after he finished runner-up to the Toronto Raptors' Vince Carter in Rookie of the Year voting.

"For our team to become better, we need guys like Jason to take one more step up," Adelman said. "I think he will. We'll see when we get on the floor, but I think he has an understanding of what he has to do to become better."

Williams agreed.

"I don't think anyone should ever maintain," he said. "Try to get better. And once you achieve your goals, set higher goals."

Fatigue was probably Williams' biggest enemy last season. Adelman said Williams lost a lot of weight during the rigorous, lockout-shortened season while learning to eat right and adjust to the workload.

The weightlifting should help. Williams, listed at 6-foot-1 and 190 pounds, said added strength could make a difference as he hopes to drive more into the lane.

Other than the weightlifting, Williams said his offseason routine was pretty much the same as it's always been, though as a bona fide NBA star he did have more money in his pocket.

"That was a lot more fun," he said.

Williams said he took about three or four weeks to relax after the playoff loss, then worked out casually while residing in Florida during the summer. He sought out pickup games and mostly played with friends, "anything to get a sweat going and stay in shape," he said.

He spent a couple of days with the Kings' summer-league team in Salt Lake City, and he spent four days at a youth camp in Asia to fulfill his Nike contract. And, he said, he wore the linoleum off the kitchen floor working on his ballhandling skills.

But mostly, he was just champing at the bit to get back with his teammates, back to the NBA, and back to the drawing board.

"There's always some things you can do better or different, and I think once all of us get together, we'll see what we can change," he said. "And I'll be able to see what I've gotta change.

"This year, we're all about being better than last year."