***<\/strong><\/p>\nNear the end of an offseason basketball practice at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga last Wednesday, Liam Vitters heard some news he could not believe.<\/p>\n
Celtics star Jayson Tatum, one of Vitters\u2019 favorite players, was set to work out at the school the following day. A Chattanooga assistant coach informed Vitters that Tatum, in the area for former teammate Kemba Walker\u2019s wedding, would be stopping by the university\u2019s training facilities.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re joking, right?\u201d Vitters replied.<\/p>\n
The Chattanooga staff had tried to treat the visit as a secret to protect Tatum\u2019s privacy while on campus. But, several weeks earlier, a mutual friend had reached out to Chattanooga assistant Ricardo Rush, Jr., to see if Tatum could use the school\u2019s weight room on the day of Walker\u2019s wedding. The ceremonies, in Trenton, Ga., were only 20 minutes away. Even while traveling, Tatum wanted a top-shelf facility where he could continue rehabbing from the torn Achilles he suffered during the Celtics\u2019 second-round playoff loss in May.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, s\u2014,\u201d Vitters said. \u201cThat\u2019s crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sure enough, as the Chattanooga Mocs finished a workout on July 17, Tatum arrived at the gym with his Celtics trainer, Nick Sang.<\/p>\n
For Tatum, the stop was another step forward in a long rehabilitation process. For the Mocs, it provided an opportunity to see how one of the world\u2019s best players approaches his time in the gym. After meeting Chattanooga athletes and taking pictures with them, Tatum spent the next hour and a half focusing intently on Achilles rehab and weightlifting. Vitters and teammate Parker Robison said Tatum seemed to be \u201con a mission\u201d from the moment he entered the gym.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe crazy thing was that he showed up, said \u2018Hi,\u2019 took some pictures, and then got right to work,\u201d Robison said. \u201cYou could tell that he was really serious about this injury. Got right on a (training) table and his trainer (Sang) just got right to it, started rehabbing, doing some strengthening stuff for that torn Achilles.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to the players, Tatum got a massage, stretched, and performed band work before progressing to some upper-body lifts. Though Tatum\u2019s movement was still severely limited by the injury, the players were amazed by the way he approached every facet of his workout. Even between sets, Robison marveled at how Tatum stayed locked in.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s constantly focused,\u201d Robison said. \u201cIn between sets, he\u2019s always focused, he\u2019s never goofing around. It\u2019s like his mind is set on what he\u2019s doing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe couldn\u2019t do much,\u201d Robison added. \u201cBut what he was doing, the very limited stuff he was doing, he was taking it very seriously and very detailed. All the little small things that we sometimes overlook, he was really good (at them) and did them consistently.\u201d<\/p>\n
Celtics GM Brad Stevens has emphasized how diligently Tatum has approached the rehabilitation process. The Chattanooga players were able to see some of the work in action. The sight left an impression on Vitters.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you\u2019re coming off an Achilles tear, you could easily say like, \u2018Oh, this sucks, whatever,\u2019\u201d the 6-foot-5 rising sophomore guard said. \u201cTo be taking it so seriously, be so intent in your actions and everything you\u2019re doing, I feel like it shows us if he\u2019s that serious when he\u2019s limited, then we should be that serious when we\u2019re not limited.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Celtics star Jayson Tatum, center right, with walking boot, poses with members of the Chattanooga Mocs basketball team. (Courtesy of Will McCutcheon\/Chattanooga Basketball)<\/p>\n
The Celtics have not released a timeline for Tatum\u2019s recovery, but Stevens said in early July that the All-Star was \u201cprogressing at an incredible rate\u201d from his injury. While rehabilitating, he and Jaylen Brown, who underwent a right knee arthroscopic debridement procedure in June but is expected to be ready for training camp, have spent more time than usual at the team\u2019s practice facility this summer. When Tatum has left the Boston area, Sang has traveled with him, according to Stevens.<\/p>\n
\u201cJayson is working every single day,\u201d Stevens said earlier this month. \u201cHe has literally been here every day, except when he took a few days\u2019 break. But when he takes a few days\u2019 break, Nick goes with him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sang\u2019s presence allows Tatum to stick to his regimen, even on the road. The two are often inseparable, working together to prepare Tatum\u2019s body. The first major injury of his NBA career has brought a new set of challenges this offseason, but they have attacked the rehab with purpose. The effort to find a quality gym near Walker\u2019s wedding provided evidence of that.<\/p>\n
Chattanooga has hosted other big-name athletes in the past, including former NFL wide receiver Terrell Owens, a graduate of the school. Strength coach Kevin Rodriguez communicated with Sang throughout the week before the visit to ensure Tatum would have everything he needed. Rodriguez wanted to do whatever he could to provide Tatum with as much privacy and space as necessary during his time there.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were so cool,\u201d Rodriguez said of Sang and Tatum. \u201cI had mentioned to them like, \u2018Hey, we\u2019re going to have other athletes in here training: my basketball team, women\u2019s basketball and some volleyball players.\u2019 And they were cool. They were like, \u2018No, man, this is y\u2019all\u2019s home. We don\u2019t mind having anybody around.\u2019 So that was cool. \u2026It was good for not only the men\u2019s basketball team, but our women\u2019s basketball team and our women\u2019s volleyball team to see him as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rush said Tatum took time to interact with players on each of the teams and take photos. When Tatum was working out, Rodriguez wanted everyone in attendance to soak up some of the NBA champion\u2019s attitude.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe all know what happened this past year with him (with the injury),\u201d Rodriguez said. \u201cAnd he\u2019s trying to get back (onto the court). There\u2019s a lot of people that wouldn\u2019t just bring someone with them on the road, you know what I\u2019m saying? Whether it\u2019s for a personal matter, whether it\u2019s for a business matter, (they can see) that he\u2019s trying to get back into the game, and he\u2019s going to do whatever he needs to do to get himself back to where he was.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted these guys to see that \u2026 he\u2019s still trying to get some work in and trying to get back. So I think just having that professional mindset that, \u2018Hey, I\u2019m going to dedicate two to three hours of my day every day to work on my body, get back.\u2019 So that\u2019s what we preach with our guys. Like, we want you guys to be professionals. We want you guys to act like professionals. But we want you to treat your bodies like professionals as well. \u2026 And that\u2019s what he\u2019s doing. So that\u2019s something that I think was cool for our guys to see.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Vitters, the visit was also a personal treat. The Arlington, Va. native grew up loving the Celtics because of his father\u2019s ties to the New England area. Also a passionate Duke supporter, Vitters has followed Tatum\u2019s career closely throughout the years. As such a big fan, Vitters said he freaked out a little bit upon learning Tatum would be working out at Chattanooga. After witnessing the seriousness Tatum showed in the gym, Vitters considered himself fortunate to see a small window into the five-time All-NBA player\u2019s greatness.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was one of the best things ever,\u201d Vitters said.<\/p>\n
Vitters hopes the Chattanooga program can build on its success after winning the NIT championship last season. He believes Tatum\u2019s visit, as brief as it was, should serve as inspiration for his team.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf he can be doing that hard of work while still being injured, think about all we could be doing perfectly healthy,\u201d Vitters said. \u201cAnd if we treat that, if we take that and use it going forward, hopefully it\u2019ll help us with our whole team.\u201d<\/p>\n
***<\/strong><\/p>\nJay King is a staff writer for The Athletic covering the Boston Celtics. He previously covered the team for MassLive for five years. He also co-hosts the \u201cAnything Is Poddable\u201d podcast. Follow Jay on X @byjayking<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jayson Tatum during his workout at University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Editor\u2019s Note:\u00a0Read more NBA coverage from The…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":88805,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[1260,62,59476,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-88804","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-nba","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-the-athletic-celtics-jayson-tatum-on-a-mission-during-surprise-workout-in-chattanooga","11":"tag-united-states","12":"tag-unitedstates","13":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114908611622845546","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88804","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88804"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88804\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88805"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88804"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88804"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88804"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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