Exhibition Opener
Who: UD vs. Ferris State
When: 7 p.m. today, Nov. 3
Where: UD Arena
Radio: WHIO-AM 1290
Fast fact: The No. 21 Flyers will play two exhibition games prior to their Nov. 14 opener against Creighton. UD's second practice game is at 7 p.m. Monday against Northern Kentucky at UD Arena.
The coaches told him they wanted their players “out of their element, their comfort zone, their cushy surroundings” at the Donoher Center and on the University of Dayton campus.
That’s how the Dayton Flyers basketball team — for the first two months of the school year, one day a week — ended up in downtown Dayton at Drake’s Gym, a place that is many things, though “cushy” is not one of them.
When the Flyers walked into the old produce warehouse turned no-frills fight and fitness club — where they’d hoist truck tires, pound on Shaq-sized heavy bags and, as London Warren now remembers it, “do 5,000 push-ups” — they were greeted by the unsmiling images of legends like Roberto Duran and Muhammad Ali staring down at them from the walls, walls painted with one prevailing message: “No Whining.”
“The guys had no idea what they were walking into,” said John Drake, who runs the gym. “It was going to be nonstop, rock ’n’ roll. The coaches wanted it hard-nosed — no opening the doors or windows and no water until we were done.”
And there was one more no-no.
“The guys were just pouring sweat and finally one of them yells for one of their managers, ‘Towel ... towel!’ ” Drake said with a chuckle. “That’s when I yelled, ‘Timeout. You think boxers, in the middle of a tough round, get a towel break? That’ll cost you all 50 more push-ups.’ ”
The fight club idea was hatched by UD strength coach Mike Bewley and Drake, then embraced by head coach Brian Gregory.
“We wanted to study the heart of a champion, so we could apply it to ourselves,” said Flyers post player Kurt Huelsman. “First we studied some of the greats, guys like Marvin Hagler, Rocky Marciano, Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali, then we went to the gym to learn what they did.”
Warren said it was a “great” venture for the whole team: “The coaches are trying to instill the idea of ‘relentless fury’ in us. That’s our theme this year and that’s what boxing is. It’s a tough sport.
“In basketball you take a possession off, you can lose the game. In the boxing ring, you take time off and your life can be ended.”
Huelsman said the lessons will help “when we’re tired and things aren’t going our way.”
Drake, often bellowing like a Marine drill sergeant, had the Flyers doing everything from old-school exercises to firing off punch combinations into his catch mitts. Only a few guys were ever allowed in the ring, but not to spar against each other.
“The ring was treated as sacred ground,” Drake said.
Although the players fantasized about being in a prizefight, Huelsman admitted they might think twice when they’d find themselves with “broken noses, bloody lips and teeth knocked out.”
That said, on the final day, Drake — who was impressed by the Flyers’ athleticism and camaraderie — said Huelsman asked: “So how do you think we’d do in the ring?”
“You’d get your butts beat,” a smiling Drake told him. “You guys are still learning.”
Warren now nods at that, but also shows he’s a counter puncher: “I can tell you this, if I got knocked down, I think I would get right back up and keep fighting.”
And that’s the heart of a champion.
About the Author