Michael O’Grady | sports editor

Cooper Fieldhouse is empty in the early morning. Not all of the lights are turned on, and the ones that are illuminate the court below, leaving the stands in darkness. Staff walk around, getting ready for practice. A speaker on the scorer’s table plays classic rock hits.

Slowly, the Dukes make their way onto the floor for a pre-practice shootaround. Matúš Hronský is first, followed by Jakub Necas. Eli Wilborn, Jake DiMichele and Maximus Edwards join them in the coming minutes. Soon enough, the whole team is out of the locker room and either in the arena or the practice gym.

Except for David Dixon.

They say the early bird gets the worm, but it’s hard to argue Dixon isn’t one of the hardest-working players on Duquesne’s roster. Instead of warming up by taking shots, he has to get himself ready for basketball activities before he even steps on the court. That means warming his knees with a hot towel, taping his ankles in the trainer’s room, stretching out his knees and then warming them again for a few minutes he doesn’t have. All of this, just to temporarily feel well enough to practice.

“I usually get to the gym around maybe 30 to 45 minutes before practice,” Dixon says. “Get dressed, all that stuff, and then I just start putting heat on my knees, because I don’t want my legs to get stiff. And then I’ll go through light stretching, then go through my pre-practice workout with Coach Jules [Sullinger].”

Dixon has now logged two-and-a-half seasons on the Bluff, and the vast majority of them have been either while Dixon is nursing an injury or coming off of one. In the past four years, he’s had three different knee surgeries. Despite that, he has played every game in his sophomore and junior years and only missed a few games during the Atlantic 10 Conference portion of his freshman year. His availability has gotten him into lofty places, as just recently he moved into fifth place on the Duquesne all-time blocks list.

Though he’s never been an established starter at center, this season he’s usually the first one called off the bench by Head Coach Dru Joyce III. Dixon’s sixth-man role has made him a valuable asset for the Dukes.

“Dave’s a winner, he does not care,” Joyce said, following a win over St. Bonaventure in which Dixon’s strong second half earned him an ovation from the Duquesne fans. “He doesn’t care whether he starts, whether he comes off the bench, he’s just trying to win, and I think his mindset is in that direction, and it allows him to play free, allows him to make plays and play with energy and effort.”

The St. Bonaventure game was just one example of the recent impact Dixon has had on the Dukes. He’s had at least three blocks in five of his last 11 games, including a five-block outing at George Washington. His defensive presence alone off the bench has contributed positively to Duquesne’s box scores; early in the season, teams were scoring at least 70 over the Dukes left and right, in conference play it’s only happened in regulation three times.

Offensively, Dixon is usually penciled in for under 10 points, but he’s capable of masterpieces like Duquesne’s overtime win over Saint Joseph’s three weeks ago. Not only did Dixon have 17 points and two game-saving blocks, he hit the winning 3-pointer in the extra frame, just his third all season.

“It’s perseverance,” Dixon says. “I didn’t have a good start, and I made the choice to come off the bench, talked to my coach, and it’s persevering through tough times. That’s all it is. It’s not really how you start, because we’ve had bad starts before, it’s how you finish it. I feel like we’re doing well. Overall, I think I’m doing good.”

At practice, Dixon is in a jovial mood while going through drills with Sullinger and fellow center Chabi Barre, mentioning part of the reason his spirits are high is because of a tasty burger from Chili’s the night before. But not every day for Dixon comes with good food and good knees.

“It’s a grueling ordeal, and sometimes I’ll be like, ‘Man, I don’t wanna do this,’” Dixon says. “I wanna just get to practice and just stretch sometimes, or stay in the training room with the heating pads on my knees. But in order for myself to get better, I have to do it.”

Dixon’s motivation doesn’t just stem from his own desire to fight through his physical pain. He pushes himself in his brother’s honor, he says.

“My brother wanted to play basketball and he worked way harder than me, but he’s autistic and the game was too fast and he wasn’t able to go anywhere. He still has hoop dreams. He has all these pictures of basketball players on the walls, and when we went to the NCAA tournament I got him a ticket, and that was probably the most fun he’s ever had. He always talks about it. So I try to work hard and I try to do all this stuff just so I can help him out.”

As the Dukes enter what will be an important March and April, Joyce knows that Dixon with two good knees, one good knee or no good knees will be ready and waiting when his name is called.

“He’s a warrior,” Joyce says.