The Pistons went 0-4 on their recent West Coast road trip, but one positive that came out of the trip was the emergence of rookie DaJuan Summers.

Summers found a spot in the rotation on the trip after spending most of the first 10 games on the bench. Summers averaged 14.5 minutes in the four West Coast games after playing a total of 15 minutes in Detroit’s first 10 games.

The second round pick out of Georgetown played 23 minutes in the Pistons last game, a loss at Phoenix, scoring a career-high 13 points and he was a perfect 3 for 3 on his 3-point attempts.

Summers said his confidence was never down when he wasn’t playing, he was just working hard so he would be ready if an opportunity to play came his way.

“I know the season is a long season. I knew the opportunity would come, hopefully sooner than later, which it did,” Summers said. “My confidence was always good. I think I had a good summer league so it wasn’t like I was low on confidence. The opportunity just didn’t present itself yet.”

Summers said he believes taking his time has helped him improve since the preseason. Summers minutes were limited even in the preseason so when he did get out on the floor he was anxious and more prone to making mistakes. Now he has slowed down and as a result became more comfortable out on the floor.

“When I was getting minutes in the preseason, the little minutes they were, I was rushing things, I was moving too quick, I wasn’t letting the game come to me,” Summers said. “But now I just play relaxed. I’m more comfortable with my role, knowing where my shot is going to come from, know when to takes shots, when it’s a good shot for me. I’m just being relaxed.”