Big Baby' driven by doubters
BATON ROUGE -- When former LSU forward Glen Davis' head popped up on television for a national network interview last week, it was obvious something had changed.
Even while visible only from the neck up and with the sound turned down, you could tell Glen Davis was winning his most recent, and ongoing, battle with weight on his 6-foot-9 frame.
And why not? NBA riches are motivation through grueling workouts and gruel-like meals. Since the end of a disappointing junior season two months ago, Glen Davis has lost 65 pounds and now tips the scales at 282, said his strength and conditioning coach, James Cooper.
But if viewers could have seen Glen Davis' shoulders, they could have imagined a great big chip balancing there.
In a telephone interview last week, Glen Davis didn't try to disguise being miffed that almost every NBA mock draft has him going somewhere in the second round. You could also feel a smile through the phone that when the June 28 NBA draft has passed, he believes he will have the last laugh.
"I'm trying to take a positive approach to everything," Glen Davis said with a hint of resignation. "People have been criticizing me so much to the point you almost think you can't play basketball. After all you've done and all you've accomplished, they don't give you credit for what you've done.
"Give credit where credit is due. If a guy can play, don't judge him and predict his future. The media does that; it's their job. But they don't know. It's my job to change it around."
Glen Davis has plenty of time to do that.
The draft is a little more than a month away, and the order won't be locked in until today when the NBA holds its lottery drawing.
At the end of this month, Glen Davis will participate in the pre-draft camp and go head to head with his competition. After that he has individual workouts lined up with several NBA teams, six at last count.
Most of the teams know what he can do. They watched him help LSU dismantle Duke and Texas on the way to the 2006 Final Four. Even though LSU stumbled to a 5-11 Southeastern Conference mark last season, Glen Davis matched his scoring and rebounding numbers from the previous season, when he was chosen SEC Player of the Year.
But transitioning into the NBA, Glen Davis has some baggage. The chief question marks are his weight and conditioning. Other negatives included short arms and an inability to play above the rim.
Glen Davis' agent, John Hamilton, said feedback from NBA teams has been encouraging. Hamilton said he was flooded with calls on the first day teams were allowed to contact underclassmen, and several team officials have told him Glen Davis is among the top 20 players in the draft.
"One scout said he's an immediate mismatch in the NBA," Hamilton said. "He said they've always held Glen Davis in high regard. None of them talked about Glen Davis as a second-round pick."
Ryan Blake, assistant director of NBA scouting, echoed Hamilton. He said it's impossible to flesh out the draft at this point and that the field is quite strong. Blake said Glen Davis is by no means flying under the radar either, and he will be on an NBA roster next season.
"Glen Davis is a guy who has proved what he can do," Blake said. "He's a talented player, knows that game, has a high aptitude, and he's driven.
"He knows how to play in the post, how to get position. He can get down the floor and has great lateral footwork. He can spread the defense a little bit. He plays below the rim, but he also has the size, strength and knowledge that he doesn't have to play above the rim."
Glen Davis, though, has moved closer to that direction. Working with Cooper and former LSU basketball player Fess Irvin in Houston, he has transformed himself with diet and workouts that go from 7:30 a.m. until 5 p.m.
Cooper, a strength and training professional for 15 years, put Glen Davis on a managed diet featuring several small meals per day. It starts with oatmeal in the morning and includes tofu, small amounts of chicken or salmon, no more than three pieces of fruit per day and two handfuls of vegetables at lunch. For a snack, he gets soy nuts.
When he isn't eating, Glen Davis is doing conditioning, speed or agility work or lifting weights. Now that Glen Davis has hit his target weight, he's working to maintain it.
"He was pretty pooped by the end of the day," said Cooper, who runs Fit Athletic Club and has worked with the
Los Angeles Lakers and
San Antonio Spurs. "Now we can back off a little bit.
"It's been a project, but as long as he's willing to do it. ... Of course he complains, but he works harder than some of the pros I've had."
Cooper said Glen Davis' body fat has dropped 9 percent in the past two months, and he can run 5 miles without stopping.
Glen Davis has been diligent with his on-court training as well, and that's where Irvin comes in. Irvin puts Glen Davis through intense, specific drills to simulate NBA play and pace.
For example, Glen Davis will post up, then run to 3-point line, post up again, fake a shot, take two dribbles to the left, move to the right, go left and then shoot a jump shot. Or, they will play two-on-two with Irvin as the point guard for both of the other players and go back and forth defending, rebounding and attacking the basket with a player in his face.
They also break down individual situations such as the pick-and-roll into several variations.
"We work on everything you see the NBA players doing," said Irvin, who has held similar workouts for the Dallas Mavericks.
"I think the scouts are going to be blown away in individual workouts when they see the way Glen Davis can move, shoot the ball from 20 feet in, put the ball on the floor. His footwork is good and getting better. He's really matured. He's going to be a good pro."
Glen Davis said he wants to show everyone he can handle whatever negatives people throw at him. He wants to do more than what is necessary.
"I'm touching upon everything," he said. "There isn't just one thing I need to do better. I need to do everything better.
"I want to solidify that I can play. I want to solidify my spot. I understand that, because at the NBA level they don't give you nothing."
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