A splash in the face. A nudge in the back. Even a heavy sleeper like Bernie Dennison of Columbia couldn't help but answer the emphatic daily wake-up call of friend and live-in trainer Kevin McDuffie last summer.
Each morning, the early-rising McDuffie would urge and prod, and the heavy-slumbering Dennison would resist.
But when the eyelids finally crept open, and the 6-foot-6 frame arose, Dennison was to begin yet another day of arduous training -- workouts the forward now credits with taking his game to the next level.
Hours on end of lifting, shooting, playing and, most of all, learning, are paying big dividends for the Glenelg Country School junior these days.
As of Friday, the 17-year-old averaged a metro-area leading 25.6 points and 17.3 rebounds for the 12-2 Dragons.
Earlier this season, he set school records with a 33-point, 27-rebound performance against Harrisburg Academy, and scored 29 against Washington-area power Laurel Baptist and all-American Louis Bullock.
After playing sparingly last season for Centennial, Dennison slowly has built a reputation as one of the better -- if not least known -- players in the county.
And he says he owes much of his success to his summer workout partner.
"He really helped me out a lot," he said of McDuffie, the former Lake Clifton and Northeastern University standout, now a European League all-star. "He taught me a whole lot during that time. We worked on post-ups, jump shots -- just about every phase of the game."
The daily routine started before sunrise with a trip to the local gym for an hour of lifting weights followed by an early-morning shoot-around. Then it was off to McDuffie's Supreme Court summer camp, where both spent most of the day on the court teaching kids.
For Dennison, that often was followed by a summer league game Howard Community College before collapsing into bed.
It was the same routine, over and over again, for seven long weeks.
"You couldn't have worked any harder than we worked over the summer," said McDuffie, a 6-7 forward averaging 41 points and 22 rebounds for ABC Contern in Luxembourg.
McDuffie, who lived in New York and stayed with the Dennison family during his summer camp, said that Dennison's strong work ethic will take him as far as he wants to go.
"He's a workhorse, and when you have a workhorse you'll always have an outstanding player," McDuffie said. "One of our goals was rebounding, and now he's leading his team in rebounds. I'm proud of him for that.
"He's willing to go the extra mile, and that will make him a great player."
It's also making him a standout in the classroom.
After transferring into Glenelg Country School for "its strong math and science programs," Dennison seems on course toward his goal of acceptance into the Naval Academy. He carries a 3.5 grade-point average and is on the school's honor roll.
Though not at a traditional basketball power -- the school has had a basketball program for only a handful of years -- Dennison said he wants to help put the Dragons on the map.
"I think we deserve much more recognition than we've gotten," said the power forward, whose team will join the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association next season. "Sure, we play some weaker schools, but we also held our own with Laurel Baptist, and they'll probably be nationally ranked soon."
That game, in which the Dragons trailed by just nine at the half before losing by double digits, was when Dennison first came to terms with his potential.
"Sometimes you doubt yourself, but I don't really doubt my abilities anymore after that game," he said. "We held our own with them, and I think I surprised them a little."
But that was just one day in what's been a lifetime of exciting experiences for Charles and Teri Dennison's oldest son.
Charles, a part-time sports agent and director of AAU basketball for the Central Maryland region, is a former member of the Secret Service who -- under Presidents Carter and Reagan -- headed security for events at the White House.
As a preschooler, Bernie was roaming freely around the White House, ducking under ropes meant to keep the public at bay. In 1983 when the World Champion Philadelphia 76ers visited the president, the Dennison family became friends with young Charles Barkley, and to this day the NBA superstar still knows the kids by their first names.
Dennison said it's a dream of his to one day be in Barkley's position, but that a career in law is also high on the list.
For now, he continues to work on his ball handling and three-point shooting with the hopes of becoming a small forward at the college level.
In his spare time, he likes to work on his 1994 Camaro, and watches as little brothers Patrick (14) and Michael (9) -- who doctors say could both eventually approach the 7-foot mark -- continue to progress.
"I just try to strive for perfection," said Dennison. "You take 20 extra shots here and there, and always work your hardest. It's something that I've learned from my dad and Kevin, and now it's just part of my life."