Sporting News Magazine, January 2004
Sweat Home Chicago
by Sonny Lufrano

A mile away from the house that Mike built, Chicago's United Center, sits Hoops The Gym, the house that Tim built. The Tim in question is Tim Grover, Michael Jordan's ex-trainer and president of A.T.T.A.C.K. Athletics, the company he started more than a decade ago and where he currently serves as coach, big brother, mother, father and personal trainer to seemingly everyone who's anyone in the NBA. Grover first garnered national attention back in the 1990's when Jordan credited him with creating a fitness plan that transformed Jordan's body into a machine. That Grover deserves a portion of the credit for Jordan's success is undeniable. What is up for discussion is exactly how much credit Grover deserves and whether his system can work the same wonders for other NBA players.

Parking outside Hoops The Gym is a bit different from parking outside your local YMCA. For starters, there are no Dodge Neons in sight. The cars driven by NBA players, much like their owners, are sleek, oversized and flamboyant. (For those of you playing along at home I counted one Hummer, two Land Rovers, two Navigators, two Expeditions and a partridge in a pear tree.)

Inside Hoops state-of-the-art weight room, Orlando Magic forward Juwan Howard sits on a bench and takes a deep breath as 50 Cent pumps out of a nearby speaker. Howard, a wily veteran who's been in the league long enough to deserve his own retro jersey right now, stands up and gets ready to attack a machine called "The Vert." According to Grover, The Vert -- which looks a bit like the old military presses on a Nautilus machine -- offers a true measure of a player's explosiveness.

Thirty seconds into a routine that involves pushing the sled-like device up and down using your arms and legs until either you or the sled collapses, Grover analyzes numbers on a nearby computer screen and shouts words of encouragement.

"Let's go Juwan. Don't cheat yourself," says Grover.

"Man, that ain't no joke," Howard says, walking away from The Vert seconds later with enough sweat pouring off his frame to irrigate the Sahara.

Grover punches a few buttons on the keyboard. Like a day trader analyzing stocks, he keeps personalized records on every player who walks through his door. (This summer's regulars include: Elton Brand, Shawn Marion, Corey Maggette, Quentin Richardson, Michael Finley, Antoine Walker, Tim Hardaway and Eddie Curry)This allows Grover to track how much strength a player had prior to coming to Chicago and how much strength he has gained over a period of time.

"The players don't care about these numbers," Grover says. "It's more for me so I can chart their progress. Plus, the agents seem to like it if they can document to an owner or a GM how hard their client is working."

The Summer Grind

Every morning Grover arrives at Hoops around 9:00 a.m. A stocky, Napoleonic figure with an all about business demeanor, Grover is the personal training equivalent of a gym rat.

"I'm here from nine to six every day," said Grover. "I obviously love what I do."

What he does is run a basketball and training summer boot camp for any NBA player, or potential NBA prospect, that can afford his fee. Because so many current NBA players live rap star lifestyles, Grover never knows for sure who show up in the morning. According to Greg Ryan, Grover's director of scouting and recruiting, Elton Brand and Corey Maggette have been this summer's two hardest workers. (Coincidentally, both were recently rewarded with huge contracts). While workouts are tailored to an individual player's needs, the basic schedule is the same for everyone. The morning is divided into two sessions: an hour of basketball related drills and an hour of weight lifting and strength and conditioning. The afternoon is devoted to "The Run," where from 2:00 p.m. until everyone gets tired some of the NBA's finest play pick-up games up to seven by ones with a 24-second shot clock and NBA referees.

On a recent Thursday morning, Clippers' All-Star forward Elton Brand and Chicago Bulls' forward Marcus Fizer go through Grover's morning basketball drills. Fizer, who's still recovering from a torn ACL, works on stationary and off-the-dribble jumpers while Grover has Brand focus on low post moves and free throw line extended jumpers. From every position on the court, Grover forces Brand shoot over a seven-foot foam dummy with its hands extended toward the rafters in Yao-like fashion.

"So many of the players have just one or two signature moves," said Ryan. "We try to take guys a little out of their comfort zone. Take Elton. He has a patented spin move and jump hook on the low block that is virtually unstoppable. But everyone knows it's coming. If we can get him to put the ball on the floor and consistently knock down the mid-range jumper, his numbers will blow up."

In the weight room, Fizer and Brand are joined by Suns' All-Star forward Shawn Marion and Wizards' forward Bobby Simmons. The workouts are a whirlwind of activity. What sticks out is Grover's Santa Claus-like ability, no matter where he is in the room, to know who is working hard and who is dogging it.

"How many is that Marcus?" Grover says to Fizer while helping Brand finish a set on a different machine. "C'mon Marcus. Push yourself."

"Tim knows what's he's doing," said Marion. "I'm just starting to work with him but I see what he's done for Elton and Antione (Walker) this summer and I can tell you I plan to be here for the next month."

The Run

At two o'clock, Grover walks onto the court with his clipboard and begins to shout out names. The gray team today consists of Juwan Howard, Bobby Simmons, a potential college All-American and two guys who played in Europe. The black team consists of Elton Brand, Shaun Marion, Antoine Walker and recent LSU grad Ronald Dupree. The referees, two of whom worked the Finals last year, are Danny Crawford, James Capers and Marc Davis.

Games up to seven by ones go real quick. The idea is to keep the play at a high level for as long as possible. Like any summertime game, the tendency is to go one-one-one, play no defense and jack up as many threes as possible. Not here. Here, guys play defense. On a number of drives, players come crashing down to the floor without ever getting the shot up.

Bobby Simmons makes a sweet move around Shawn Marion and dunks on no one in particular.

"That's a nice change of pace Bobby," says Grover.

Next time down the court Simmons beats Marion off the dribble and then gets his stuff thrown back to the Washington, DC area. Marion is now hustling. No one wants to get embarrassed. Real players play hard. Brand and Howard go at it all afternoon on the low block. Pushing. Shoving. Elbowing. It feels a lot more like June than August. Howard hits a jumper. Brand blocks his shot. Brand hits a turn around. Howard drives around Brand. Back and forth we go. By the end of the day everyone, including the referees, gets what they came for. An NBA workout.

After 90 minutes of play, Grover and his assistants wrap players' knees in ice packs. Antoine Walker and Shawn Marion sit on the sidelines and talk about players, politics and women. If there is a walking billboard for Grover's workouts, it is the Celtics' Walker. After being embarrassed by Kenyon Martin in the playoffs last year Walker, like my mom, lost close to twenty pounds this summer. He looks like a new man.

"I'll enter training camp this year in the best shape of my life," said Walker. "Tim put me on a workout program and a diet and while he can't follow me around and make me stick to it, the message got through."

In ten hours Grover will be back on the court with whoever decides to show up for Friday morning's workout. Quentin Richardson was supposed to show up today but never did and Corey Maggette and Michael Finley have already left voice messages saying they plan to be in early.

Brand heads upstairs to get treatment on his knees. Watching him sit on the trainer's table with electrodes connected to his legs, one can't help but wonder why someone who just signed a six year $84 million contract would spend two months of his summer here instead of lounging on a yacht with girls in bikinis serving him pastel colored drinks with little umbrellas?

"For me, it's about discipline," said Brand. "A lot of guys get lost during the summer. If I'm on my own I might come in and goof around, shoot a little bit and go have lunch. What Tim does is make sure I'm pushing myself every step of the way. So from a physical standpoint he's the best in the business. And then from a basketball standpoint, where else am I gonna find a run against the level of talent he gets here with the NBA's best referees? You just can't find this environment anywhere else."