By Chad Mobley, utahjazz.com

A year ago, he was just finishing high school. Eight months ago, he went grocery shopping without his parents for the first time. Five months ago, he came to the Utah Jazz. And last week, he dribbled across midcourt to face elite defenders like LeBron James and Chris Paul as he launched his NBA career. Danté Exum has been asked to do a lot of growing up in the last 12 months, and expectations for the international man of mystery's debut season were low.

That didn't last long.

The 19-year-old Australian obviously has a lot to learn in his transition from prep to pro, but he's already turning heads. This week he climbed into the sixth spot on the NBA.com rookie ladder, just behind Andrew Wiggins. There's been rumblings on social media that he'll soon start at guard for the Jazz if he keeps humming along at the same clip. There's even been, dare I say, talk about him winning the Rookie of the Year award. He might have curbed some of those notions with a poor performance in Atlanta, but a few bumps like that could be predicted. While he might not be nudging his way into the starting lineup or toppling Jabari Parker as the most promising rookie just yet, Exum is doing some things early this season that exceed preseason expectations.

5. Smarts

Exum already has a high basketball IQ. His vision coming off the pick-and-roll and ability to see the whole court are two of his many unteachable instincts that slingshotted him to the top of the draft. He's proving that he can learn things from head coach Quin Snyder and put them to work immediately. Snyder is rewarding him with time on the floor as his minutes have almost doubled since the opening game against the Rockets.

4. Minutes

Exum himself probably didn't expect to be playing as many minutes as he has. His playing time (nearly 20 minutes per game) is only going to accelerate his development as he continues to get used to the pressure of NBA defenses.

3. Speed

His quickness comes in handy to make up for his miscues, and he proved how fast he can adjust in a game against the Clippers. On one particular play, he was screened on a Jordan Farmar jumper, but was able to blow past it in the blink of an eye to get the block. On offense, when he turns it on, he can beat anybody to the rim. It's just a matter of gaining the confidence to do it and the decisiveness to know when.

2. Points

OK, so we've already established that he struggled in Atlanta. He only scored two points in a losing effort, but, according to basketball-reference.com, the points are coming when he's on the floor. He's only cracked double digits in two games, but he's good for 10.8 points per 36 minutes (the same as Trey Burke).

1. Efficiency

Exum has the second-highest player efficiency rating (11.95) among rookies right now—behind Orlando's Aaron Gordon (12.96). Add that to the to the fact that he leads all NBA point guards in percentage of assist opportunities converted and you've got a 19-year-old kid who's doing pretty well for his first nine games in the NBA.