ESPN Men's Basketball

Originally Published: July 7, 2006

Davis, Hibbert, White all look in top shape

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By Andy Katz
ESPN.com
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INDIANAPOLIS -- It took only one comment to make my colleague, Pat Forde, crinkle up his cheesy Cheetos and toss them in the trash.

Forde, a fit man, was called out by LSU's Glen Davis for consuming a snack that was too fattening as we all sat eating at a Subway on the IUPUI campus Thursday.

Davis wasn't exactly breaking nutritional ground here, but he wanted to make sure that we knew Cheetos weren't an appropriate snack choice.

Now, normally a comment like this coming from "Big Baby" would be scoffed at. Even though the rising junior center from LSU -- the reigning SEC Player of the Year -- helped lead the Tigers to the Final Four, he played last season at 310 pounds.

Streeter Lecka/Getty ImagesCan a downsized Davis help LSU cut down more nets this season?

That, though, was the old "Big Baby." Davis is still a big man at 6-foot-9, but now he is down to 289 pounds. He said he hasn't weighed that "little" since the seventh grade. The last time he was below 200, he says, was back in the fourth grade. (Good thing Davis is the friendly, clowning type or he would have had the lunch-money market cornered in Baton Rouge.)

Davis still has the nickname, but it might be time to drop the "Baby" tag. He's now a mature man who understands what's at stake with his body.

The turning point for him this spring was when a nutritionist made him watch "Super Size Me," the documentary about a man who became sick after eating nothing but McDonald's meals for a month.

Davis said he used to eat cheeseburgers almost as a snack, gesturing as he pretended to inhale burgers in the same manner that Sesame Street's Cookie Monster dines.

"I had to give up a lot of things, like beef," Davis said. "Beef sticks to me. So I switched to veggie burgers and soybean. I changed my milk, too."

What about snacks?

"No snacks," Davis said. "No protein shakes ... well, it depends on how you make them."

Davis said he also cut out on-the-go meals and is ensuring that he eats three meals a day. Well, sometimes four, as long as "the portions are small, just to satisfy the taste."

How did all this weight loss affect him on the court during the Nike camp counselor game Thursday? Well, let's just say Davis was about as nimble as he has ever been as he competed against 7-2 Georgetown center Roy Hibbert and 6-9 Indiana forward D.J. White.

"I can tell I'm a bit more mobile and have a quicker first step," Davis said. "I haven't tested my vertical yet."

That was hard to do against Hibbert, but Davis was able to spin and score in the post.

Davis will try to maintain his 18.6-point and 9.7-rebound averages from last season without Tyrus Thomas at his side. Replacements Magnum Rolle and Darnell Lazare aren't as productive as scorers.

The slimmed-down big-man trend isn't limited to just Davis. Hibbert and White looked like new men, as well.

AP Photo/Tom UhlmanGeorgetown will need a thinned-down Hibbert to up his production.

Hibbert will have to increase his responsibility this season now that Brandon Bowman and Darrel Owens are gone. He'll have rising junior forward Jeff Green and incoming forwards Vernon Macklin and DaJuan Summers with him in the frontcourt, but the Hoyas' center likely will have to pump up his '05-06 averages of 24 minutes, 11.6 points and 6.9 boards per game.

Given how Hibbert looked Thursday, that shouldn't be a stretch. As soon as the Hoyas lost to Florida in the Sweet 16 this past March, Hibbert committed himself to getting fit.

"I got down from 285 to 260, and now I've added muscle to get to 273," Hibbert said. "I feel more agile and can move more. I'm not lumbering around."

What was Hibbert's secret?

"I stopped eating junk food," he said. "I'm going with salads and protein shakes."

As for White, he didn't lose weight, but he gained muscle. He had plenty of time to work on his strength after playing in only five games last season due to breaking his left foot twice.

White, who will have to carry a load similar to Davis' since Marco Killingsworth has graduated, was moving without issue, spinning on Hibbert and Davis and converting buckets.

"I feel stronger. I don't have any hesitation," White said. He is playing with a special orthotic in his sneaker that focuses on the pressure points.

"I've just got to get my wind back, and then when I'm playing, slow down and catch the ball," White said about considering his possible moves to the basket.

The three juniors, all looking fit, trim and mobile, could be three of the top big men in the country (with Ohio State's Greg Oden, Florida's Joakim Noah, Duke's Josh McRoberts and North Carolina's Tyler Hansbrough also in any big-man discussion). The key will be staying in shape during the grind of the season, when late-night meals and snacks are hard to resist for a college student.

"Just eat to satisfy your taste," Davis reiterated.

For the record, except for the cheese on the turkey sub on whole grain bread, my meal was given the thumbs-up by Davis. Sorry, Pat.

Andy Katz is a senior writer for ESPN.com.