J-Ho stars in practice

If Josh Howard were still in grade school, he would have earned a Superstar sticker today for coloring inside the lines. Or at least Avery Johnson’s equivalent of Superstar sticker.

“Our best player today in practice was Josh Howard,” the Mavericks coach announced after the team’s workout at American Airlines Center.

Heady words, to be sure. Johnson proceeded to illustrate how Howard’s maturity translated to the practice court.

“He was in every drill,” Johnson explained. “Sometimes you get guys trying to hide in drills. He was out front and center in every drill. “That’s something that I talked to him about before the season. I wanted him to act a little bit more like he was a senior at Wake Forest.”

That doesn’t mean Howard needs to change his personality. Johnson isn’t asking him to stand up and take a prime leadership role. Howard, for one, considers Dirk Nowitzki, Jerry Stackhouse, Jason Terry and Johnson the team’s Big Men on Campus.

“This team is full of leaders,” Howard said. “I like to lead by example.”

He has that covered. Howard’s work ethic transformed an overlooked prospect picked at the bottom of the first round into an All-Star by his fourth season, albeit as a commissioner’s selection. (Howard is quick to remind everyone that the coaches didn’t vote him to last year’s All-Star team.)