GREAT EXPECTATIONS | Part 2 Balancing act to begin for James, Cavs

The pressures, expectations and a long, rugged schedule await the young rookie.
CLEVELAND (AP) -- Austin Carr remembers being overwhelmed with attention his rookie year with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Everywhere he went there was someone who recognized the team's No. 1 overall pick of 1971. Carr knows that the problem is magnified for LeBron James.
"It's kind of difficult to compare because the hype is so much more than when I came out of college," Carr said.
The pressure on James is unprecedented for an 18-year-old athlete. A $90 million Nike contract and other endorsement deals are riding on every pass and shot, and James faces the expectation that he's the heir to Michael Jordan.
James doesn't seemed fazed
Although James has gone straight from high school to his first season with the Cavaliers, he doesn't seem fazed.
"There's no pressure for me," James said after his first professional practice. "I feel like if I keep doing the things that I've been doing, everything will take care of itself."
Dr. Sally A. White, a sports psychologist and former consultant for the U.S. Olympic Committee, said no one with the amount of pressure James is facing can expect to remain completely composed at all times.
"In this particular situation, with the media hyping him up as the next Michael Jordan, the athlete's expectations have gone through the roof," said White, dean of the college of education at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa. "You're talking about this concept that is incredibly difficult to manage for even your most mature, experienced athlete."
Need support team for James
White said it's essential that the Cavaliers put a support system in place to help James, a two-time consensus national player of the year.
Cavaliers general manager Jim Paxson said the team has a player development group led by Dr. Charles Maher, the team's psychologist, who will meet regularly with James and other players.
Maher, who has served for 20 years as mental coach to professional baseball, football and basketball athletes, said he could not discuss how he will counsel James and the other young Cavaliers.
Off the court, James will be faced with hangers-on and people in every NBA city wanting his time.
"We don't have to look any farther than Kobe Bryant to see the pitfalls of that lifestyle," said sports psychologist Dr. Steve Edwards, referring to the sexual assault case against the Los Angeles Lakers player.
Carr, who cried when the Cavaliers won the right to select James, led Cleveland to the playoffs three times and averaged 16.2 points a game in his nine years with the team.
Much like James, Carr joined Cleveland after a dismal 15-67 season, the Cavaliers' first in the league. Soon after he was drafted he heard people referring to the team as "Austin Carr and the Cavaliers."
"It made me realize something, people are expecting me to perform at a high level every night," Carr said.
James seems to understand that.
"During high school, sometimes you can just relax, but in the NBA you have to play every second like it's your last," he said. "That's the most key thing I have learned so far."
Long, grueling season
James said he feels physically ready to play, but Cavaliers coach Paul Silas knows how long and grueling the season can be.
"I think that at some point in time, like all rookies, he's going to hit a wall and he's going to wonder why he's so tired," Silas said. "It comes with the territory. It's a natural thing."
But if James is truly destined to dominate the NBA like Jordan did, the pressure might only make him better.
"Most elite level athletes, not only do they not shun that responsibility, they look forward to it," said Edwards, who works with athletes at Oklahoma State. "That's one of the things that motivates them. Those challenges aren't particularly a bad thing."