WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS - The posh Greenbrier resort here is known for its high-brow affairs.
On Tuesday, though, it held some unibrow affairs.
The day not only brought drenching rains, but star Anthony Davis and the NBA's New Orleans Pelicans to the Greenbrier Valley.
"It's good to be here," said Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry. "The weather's not quite what we anticipated, but the facilities are good and the people are beyond first-class. It's a good first day - other than the weather."
New Orleans' visit marks the first time the team's training camp has moved outside of its home city since 2009, when it was in Lafayette, Louisiana. It is, however, the second New Orleans team to train here this year. The NFL's Saints also hold camp here.
"If you know Jim Justice, you know why," Gentry said. "Everything is first-class for you here. The facilities are great. The way they were able to get us two great courts in here. ... It gives you a chance to be isolated. It's really good for our guys from a bonding standpoint."
Matt Williams of Jam It On Inc. said it took two 53-foot trucks to haul two courts from Reno, Nevada, for the camp. ("It was a challenge," Williams said, "but the crew here at The Greenbrier was awesome.")
For those not familiar with the Pelicans, the NBA team made the playoffs on the final day of last season before getting whisked away by the Golden State Warriors in the first round. Coach Monty Williams lost his job and Gentry was put in place.
Southern West Virginians might remember that the new coach once assisted Mullens native and former NBA coach Mike D'Antoni, who attended Tuesday's practice.
"He's great," Gentry said of D'Antoni. "He should be in the league coaching right now. ... The guy's a tremendous coach. I bounce a lot of stuff off him. Probably 80 percent of the stuff I coach I learned from him."
The two were together when D'Antoni coached the Phoenix Suns. Also, Gentry has another Mountain State connection: He once played for former Davis & Elkins and West Virginia Wesleyan legend "Press" Maravich at Appalachian State. ("He was way, way, way ahead of his time," Gentry said of Maravich.)
But the Pelicans' visit is fashioned to take that next step in the upcoming NBA season.
"The environment here is much more conducive to team bonding, closeness," Gentry said. "It gives you an opportunity to be alone, rather than being at home and going home every night, the typical routine."
Davis, who has trademarked some phrases associated with his famous unibrow, didn't have much to say about the resort on Day 1.
"We've only been here 24 hours, so there's no impression yet," he said. "It's raining and we're in the middle of nowhere."
There is, however, an impression of Gentry.
"He's just real cool," Davis said. "He wants us to work hard and have fun at the same time. That's what we've been doing. Everybody's excited. He wants to run. He wants a great pace."
"You've got to really get after it," added former Indiana star Eric Gordon. "You're always moving - on both sides of the ball."
Conditioning seemed a large part of the practice open to the media on Tuesday. Yet there were also laughs.
"We're trying to loosen it up," Davis said. "We're trying to make it a fun environment and get us ready for practice. ... We're working hard, but, at the same time, having fun.
"We have a big emphasis on defense. If we're going to be a good team - if we're going to be a great team - we have to play defense."
And run.
"If we're going to be a running team, we have to be in great condition," said Gentry. "We have to be consistent in our running. It's not so much how fast we run and get out, but how consistent in what we're doing.
"I equate it to a wide receiver that knows the ball isn't coming his way. You still have to run the pass pattern as if it is. You have to run here on the wing; you have to run if you're a big guy every single time.
"You might not get the ball. You may not five or six times in a row. But it may help us."
He's hoping the isolation - and a mix of work and fun - will help as well.
"We're going to take them skeet shooting," Gentry said of his team. "I'm really, really anxious to see that. I want to see who is going to be the best. I think if someone hits one [clay pigeon] out of 25 you're probably going to be the winner. If the weather doesn't cooperate we'll probably have a bowling tournament or something. We'll see who the best athletes are on this team."