Laying the groundwork

Rickey Reese has constructed and removed the Wright State men’s and women’s basketball floor over 300 times since he began working at the Nutter Center in 2002.

“This is where my heart is,” said Reese, the operations supervisor for the Nutter Center.

It takes a team of four, without breaks, two and a half hours to completely construct the 15 rows of wood flooring. Each panel needs to be lifted and then placed into position while Reese uses a rubber mallet to perfectly place each piece into a snug position and then secure the panel of court with a metal pin.

“Every line needs to be lined up exactly or else you’ll need to redo the entire row,” said Reese.

The four-person team is often faced with tight deadlines. Before Reese’s crew could get to work, for instance, the Nutter Center hosted Monster Jam this past weekend and before the basketball flooring was installed, 17 tons of dirt needed to be removed from the ground floor.

“I give these guys all the credit in the world,” said Joe Dick, interim associate director of the Nutter Center. “They want the floor to be perfect when the basketball team walks out here tomorrow.”

The floor was ready for action on Nov. 9 for the men’s basketball home opener against Davidson. It will remain in place for the OHSAA girls volleyball tournament and another men’s basketball game versus Bowling Green on Nov. 15 but will quickly need to be picked up for the Dave Matthews Band concert on Nov. 16.