"The 6-11, 245-pound power forward of the Trail Blazers is on hand for his first boxing lesson/workout with Michael Foster, who has worked as a coach and trainer at what is known as the Knott Street Boxing Club for 15 years.

You won%u2019t see Frye in the ring with Wladimir Klitschko %u2013 or any other boxing opponent %u2013 any time soon. He is here on the recommendation of Portland assistant coach Maurice Lucas, plus his own thirst for adventure.

%u201CI wanted to try a whole bunch of things this offseason,%u201D says Frye, 25, who has made Portland his year-round home. %u201CI don%u2019t think I%u2019ll ever box a real match. It%u2019s more to get conditioning and strength for my arms and shoulders. It will help me battle and hold my position under the basket against the bigger guys.%u201D

Frye isn%u2019t aware that teammate Joel Przybilla has incorporated boxing into his workouts in past years. Frye%u2019s companion Thursday is Chris Bowles, the Blazers%u2019 director of player programs and a Jesuit High grad who boxed a little as a youngster growing up in Northeast Portland.

Bowles%u2019 uncle, Jimmy %u201CBang Bang%u201D Walker, a former boxer and community leader, boxed at Knott Street 50 years ago.

%u201CBoxing is a sport that puts a premium on balance and calculating distance from your opponent,%u201D says Bowles, who will go through a workout at the same time as Frye under the direction of another coach, J.C. Wade. %u201CYou have to be able to keep your opponent off-balance while still being in an offensive stance. You can%u2019t box without being in peak condition. It also helps young men in terms of confidence and what happens when you mix it up on the basketball court.%u201D

Boxing 101 is in session. Foster offers Frye immediate instruction in the ring, beginning with footwork, then adding a jab, a 1-2, a right uppercut and finally various combinations. Frye is a willing learner, smiling at his own mistakes, and the two seem to have an immediate chemistry.

The 50-something Foster grew up in St. Louis and says he had seven professional fights. %u201CSinging was my thing,%u201D he says. He%u2019s a full head shorter than Frye but significantly more full of body than he was when he fought at 138 pounds as a young man.

Foster is catching punches with a mitt and leading Frye through a series of exercises.

%u201CThis is your target for your 1-2 punch,%u201D he says. %u201CYour punches flow straight down your nose. Bam! Bam! ... Relax, relax. Don%u2019t be so tense. Jab.%u201D

%u201CI hate not being good at something,%u201D Frye says with a grin.

%u201CEverything good takes some time,%u201D Foster responds.

%u201CRoll the shoulders ... step into it ... don%u2019t hop, slide in ... pop, pop ... don%u2019t lean over. Any time you do that, you%u2019re leaning into a punch ... chin up ... don%u2019t reach, stay right where you%u2019re at. ... don%u2019t cock it, either.