Evans Credits Improved Diet For Increased Quickness

[Bricklayer]

Being prepared as in being in top physical shape. That includes having a healthy diet.

The summer with the toppest physical shape I ever had my featured meal of the day was a Whooper Jr. w/cheese meal that was on sale for $1.99 cents that entire summer. I would get onion rings rather than the fries. Diet iced tea rather than a soft drink, sweeten it with sweet n low or nutrasweet. I was very poor that summer, there was a Burger King a block from my apartment, so it made sense. For dinner I had a 10lb bag of potatoes I ran through over the course of the summer, with a can of green beans and occasionaly some lunch meat if it was on sale. On a normal day I would work out for an hour and then play 3-4 hours of basketball or tennis in the afternoon. I normally alternated days, but there were fewer tennis partners around that summer then pickup games, so it was more basketball. If I could do neither, I ran. Which I hate, but I did it anyway. Took Sunday off to recover. Note that my speciality in every sport I ever played was defense and wars of attrition. I was always going to beat you up and outlast you. Was there a girl around coming back to school in the fall that I was hoping to impress? Sure, isn't there always? But that's not the point.

Point was you can be in pretty darn good shape even with some level of fast food in your diet. That doesn't mean that's ideal, but you can certainly more than meet any obligation you have. If Reke wants to now take it to another level, great. But being a pro athlete in no way encompasses drinking nothing but a spinach flavored power shakes morning noon and night so as to absolutely maximize your abilities while sleeping in a ideally reclined sleep pod designed to maximize your rest periods. They are just people. You go out drinking on New Year's Eve? You shouldn't -- kills brain cells and slows you down for your job, whatever it may be. But people do those things anyway. Young people even moreso.

 

[Lockehead]

Good points. But apparently Reke's diet of fast food was hurting his performance.

Also i dont think its too much to ask for an athlete whos making millions to come to be in the best shape they can be. At the very least they shouldnt be eating junk food to the point it affects their performance.

 

[King Baller]

The Nash Diet, from Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=91414362951

Here where Steve cuts to the chase:
"I feel if your diet is consistent and well balanced (think long term rather than short term) it isn't so important what you eat right before you play or the night before because your energy levels and recovery will be on target from the quality of your previous three to seven days of meals."

More info: http://valleyofthesuns.com/2010/09/...-successful-week-eating-healthy-like-the-mvp/

Maybe there is something to the old saying: "You are what you eat."

KB

 

[Kingster]

Miami hmm. What would Riley do if Lebron and Wade gained 20 lbs of fat? bench them. Get real. This is all on the players shoulders. blaming an organization for a player not taking care of his body is stupid. I don't need a nutritionist to tell me that a gallon of ice cream and a couple of big macs are bad for me. you guys are misguided. Do you think a guy making 20 million a year is going to listen to a guy making 1% of that? If a player is dedicated to the game and to the team he will take care of himself If he isn't he becomes Sean May.

Riley has established the culture at Miami - no nonsense, low fat percentage, get into damned good shape and play your a$$ off on defense. No doubt, there have been some exceptions to that rule, like when Wade supposedly wasn't in the best shape a while back. But the foundation has been laid. In Sacto there is no such culture. It's a crappy, crappy mishmash, as evidenced by the terrible shape of this team coming into training camp this past year. If this team ever is to have lift-off, especially with such a young team, the culture has got to change. If we hear the same stories next offseason about Tyreke, Cousins and the rest of the guys about diet, being overweight, out of cardiovascular shape, then we haven't changed whatsoever in that low expectation non-commitment culture and they will continue to underachieve.

 

[Kingster]

The summer with the toppest physical shape I ever had my featured meal of the day was a Whooper Jr. w/cheese meal that was on sale for $1.99 cents that entire summer. I would get onion rings rather than the fries. Diet iced tea rather than a soft drink, sweeten it with sweet n low or nutrasweet. I was very poor that summer, there was a Burger King a block from my apartment, so it made sense. For dinner I had a 10lb bag of potatoes I ran through over the course of the summer, with a can of green beans and occasionaly some lunch meat if it was on sale. On a normal day I would work out for an hour and then play 3-4 hours of basketball or tennis in the afternoon. I normally alternated days, but there were fewer tennis partners around that summer then pickup games, so it was more basketball. If I could do neither, I ran. Which I hate, but I did it anyway. Took Sunday off to recover. Note that my speciality in every sport I ever played was defense and wars of attrition. I was always going to beat you up and outlast you. Was there a girl around coming back to school in the fall that I was hoping to impress? Sure, isn't there always? But that's not the point.

Point was you can be in pretty darn good shape even with some level of fast food in your diet. That doesn't mean that's ideal, but you can certainly more than meet any obligation you have. If Reke wants to now take it to another level, great. But being a pro athlete in no way encompasses drinking nothing but a spinach flavored power shakes morning noon and night so as to absolutely maximize your abilities while sleeping in a ideally reclined sleep pod designed to maximize your rest periods. They are just people. You go out drinking on New Year's Eve? You shouldn't -- kills brain cells and slows you down for your job, whatever it may be. But people do those things anyway. Young people even moreso.

Of course. And who is arguing for a 100% spinach diet may I ask? Who is arguing for "no" fast foods? Who is arguing that young people don't eat fast food? Is there anybody on this board who has been arguing those points? It's very clear that diet is important to a professional basketball player. A player eating virtually all high fat foods is likely to not have the performance of one who eats a healthy diet, with the proper amount of protein, carbs and fats for his very high expenditure of calories. That's just common sense. It's axiomatic that an optimum diet is going to benefit a player's performance.

 

[kingsboi]

What puzzles me is shouldn't a trainer from the Kings staff be monitoring his eating? Now, let's not speculate too much here because we don't know how often he did eat fast food but none the less, he shouldn't be eating any to begin with. He has all that money to get himself a personal chef, like somebody on here mentioned and all that good stuff to the point where he shouldn't be out of shape or a step or two slow beacause of what he was eating. Who knows what to believe anymore, each week there is a report about this and that and its getting annoying. Shut up, play basketball and leave it at that.

 

[iowamcnabb]

Sounds to me like Reke has just been depressed. He has blamed his poor play on injury/personal issues and is now attributing his recent success to a better diet. I attribute it to his rediscovered motivation...

 

[kennadog]

Sorry but that just doesn't fly. Higher paying jobs require more commitment, more dedication, and more training, that's part of why they pay more to begin with.

That is absolute, unadulterated b*******. Do you really think being an NBA rookie requires more commitment, more dedication and more training than being the President of the US? Or, for that matter being a firefighter, teacher, astronaut, physicist, vetrinarian, wildlife biologist, soldier, etc? None of those people make anywhere near the kind of money NBA players get, yet NBA players are not exactly important to the future of mankind. The money a job pays has much more to do with what society is willing to pay for it than having any direct relation to the skill, knowledge, rtaining, experience, and/or education a job requires. I mean, the ladies on those "Real Housewives" shows make more than your local firefighters. 'Nuff said.

 

[Lockehead]

That is absolute, unadulterated b*******. Do you really think being an NBA rookie requires more commitment, more dedication and more training than being the President of the US? Or, for that matter being a firefighter, teacher, astronaut, physicist, vetrinarian, wildlife biologist, soldier, etc? None of those people make anywhere near the kind of money NBA players get, yet NBA players are not exactly important to the future of mankind. The money a job pays has much more to do with what society is willing to pay for it than having any direct relation to the skill, knowledge, rtaining, experience, and/or education a job requires. I mean, the ladies on those "Real Housewives" shows make more than your local firefighters. 'Nuff said.

Isnt that all the more reason to expect an NBA player, at the very least, to be in their best condition and bring their best performances to the court?

 

[RookieOfTheDay]

That is absolute, unadulterated b*******. Do you really think being an NBA rookie requires more commitment, more dedication and more training than being the President of the US? Or, for that matter being a firefighter, teacher, astronaut, physicist, vetrinarian, wildlife biologist, soldier, etc? None of those people make anywhere near the kind of money NBA players get, yet NBA players are not exactly important to the future of mankind.

That entire rant could have been avoided had you just exercised a little reading comprehension rather than shooting from the hip. I specifically said that part of the reason why jobs pay more is because they require more commitment and dedication. There’s a reason a choose to use the word part rather than make an all inclusive statement.

Furthermore, pointing out that part of why high paying jobs pay more is because of the level of commitment and dedication they require is not in any way a claim that there aren’t jobs that pay very little that require a high level of commitment and dedication.

The money a job pays has much more to do with what society is willing to pay for it than having any direct relation to the skill, knowledge, rtaining, experience, and/or education a job requires.

Wrong. It’s the knowledge, skill, training, experience, etc. that is why society is willing to pay more for some jobs that others. Surgeons make a lot of money because not many people are equipped to do the job. You can add ability to the list of reasons why society is willing to pay more, too. NBA players make a great deal because they have an ability that few have. Part of maintaining that ability would include maintaining proper diet, which brings us full circle back to where we started.

I mean, the ladies on those "Real Housewives" shows make more than your local firefighters. 'Nuff said.

I don’t know what they make, but I wouldn’t be presumptuous enough to assume that there’s no commitment, preparation, or dedication required.

 

[kennadog]

You are the one that keeps bringing money into it. I just think that money has absolutely nothing to do with the character of a person. Nor do I think that people who make a lot of money have better moral character. As a matter of fact, I think they often have less moral character.

I think everyone's making too big a deal out of random thoughts that Tyreke expresses.

It may sound like "excuses," to some people, but, to me, Evans sounds like someone who was really unhappy with how he was playing and was trying to search for "reasons" why things weren't going well. I find that a very mature attitude. If things aren't going well, a person should examine what's going on, what changes can he/shemake that might solve the problem. If you can't find the reasons, you can't fix them.

Also, all his statements indicate he was looking to his own actions and behavior for clues about what was wrong. He hasn't blamed or even hinted of any blame on his coach, the organization, or his teammates. All his talk has been about "maybe its his ankle/feet, maybe he needs to eat better, maybe its because he's had some personal problems that loomed large to him." That sounds like a person who is taking responsibility and trying to figure out what he can do differently.

Ultimately, I think he had a really bad stretch and he just started to think too much about it. Because it mattered to him so much, he just was over-thinking things, dwelling on it. Probably why his mother telling him to just go play like he knows he can made a difference.

I think he is just very much in the beginning of figuring out how to live the life of an NBA athlete and what he needs to do to be a great one.

I just don't seem to doubt, as much as some apparently do, that he has the skills and will ultimately have all the maturity and character he needs to succeed in the NBA at a high level. At least, I'm more than willing to live through his growing pains to find out. I have patience. Funny how a person gets more patient, even as they have less time to be patient.

 

[RookieOfTheDay]

You are the one that keeps bringing money into it.

Because I think it's reasonable to say that with top pay comes expectations of top performance. given that, I think it's very valid to criticize Tyreke for being a bit too lax about his diet.

 

[dukeswh]

I don't really think that fast food is to blame for Reke's poor performance the previous months, and I don't also think that his mother's cooking is to be credited for his recent success either. I think the other's team's defenses has really locked on to him this year and his injury has affected his play. I believe that what deserves credit, for rekes recent improvement, is the emergence of Cousins. I think it has given other teams another player to worry about besides Reke. At the time Cousins game improved, so did Reke. But this is just my opinion. I know this is just speculation in my part, but I believe more in this than in believing fast food can turn an NBA star to an NBA scrub.

 

[mac]

I don't really think that fast food is to blame for Reke's poor performance the previous months, and I don't also think that his mother's cooking is to be credited for his recent success either. I think the other's team's defenses has really locked on to him this year and his injury has affected his play. I believe that what deserves credit, for rekes recent improvement, is the emergence of Cousins. I think it has given other teams another player to worry about besides Reke. At the time Cousins game improved, so did Reke. But this is just my opinion. I know this is just speculation in my part, but I believe more in this than in believing fast food can turn an NBA star to an NBA scrub.

I think it's not something you can write off entirely. Reke's game is based largely on his quickness and ability to get to the rim, and he requires a certain level of quickness and explosiveness to get by his man and finish in traffic. It is a fact that not having good nutrition (be it due to having too much fast food or simply not getting good nutrition from normal home cooked food) will affect your physical performance, at least in small ways. In the NBA, that tiny loss in explosiveness and quickness can result in a loss of effectiveness for a player like Tyreke. That one second of a quick first step can be all that determines whether or not he can score on the guy defending him. If say, Matt Bonner wasn't eating right, it probably wouldn't affect his game as much because all he has to do is stand around and shoot. You can be fat and unfit and still be able to do that.

Next thing is probably confidence, and you've probably got a point about defenses having to worry about Cousins as well.

 

[FaStRmAn]

So..we've had plantar fasciaitis, an unspecified personal issue, and now too much fast food? I can't recall the last time a major player played so poorly for such a stretch with such a muddled heap of reasons. But I don't really care what it has been, as long as its largely over.

He is barely 20. I am sorry to say I can barely remember 25 year ago today when I was ~ 20 years old. I know I was not very responsible with my eating or my drinking. I am sure I was watching football, of that i am fairly certain. Tyreke, Cousins, Casspi, and even Greene have a LOT of growing up and growng together to do. The Magloofs say that the team is all about growing together to form a unit that can contend and become a winner. But even teams that went on to become championships always had to add another dimension to the puzzle in order to get over the hump. That extra umph! That last bit of energy to get them over the last hurddle and make it to a championship level. The Kings are no where NEAR that level yet. They have a ways to go before they can even consider adding pieces to help this group of players. They have 2 players who MIGHT be an answer. They have at least 3 players who could be part of the answer, but they dont have nearly enough talent to go out every night and compete against the best in the NBA. The Payroll is the lowest in the NBA. It isnt even close the talent level of this team in relation to any other team in the league. The Kings right now S T I N K!

 

[dukeswh]

I think it's not something you can write off entirely. Reke's game is based largely on his quickness and ability to get to the rim, and he requires a certain level of quickness and explosiveness to get by his man and finish in traffic. It is a fact that not having good nutrition (be it due to having too much fast food or simply not getting good nutrition from normal home cooked food) will affect your physical performance, at least in small ways. In the NBA, that tiny loss in explosiveness and quickness can result in a loss of effectiveness for a player like Tyreke. That one second of a quick first step can be all that determines whether or not he can score on the guy defending him. If say, Matt Bonner wasn't eating right, it probably wouldn't affect his game as much because all he has to do is stand around and shoot. You can be fat and unfit and still be able to do that.

Next thing is probably confidence, and you've probably got a point about defenses having to worry about Cousins as well.

Oh, i'm not writing it off entirely, I just think that the situation just got blown way out of proportion. Reading through this thread, you would think that Evans came into this season overweight and out of shape, but he did not. If he didn't mention anything about going "heavy on the fast food" would anyone even notce that he's not on some strict diet right now? And just as you say, his game relies heavily on his quickness and explosiveness, but I attribute that more to his injury rather than to his fastfood diet. Remember aside from the plantar fasciitis, he is also coming from an ankle injury which has the trainers tryng out a new way of taping his ankles. I bet that would contribute to his sudden lack of explosiveness too.

Maybe he was affected by his fastfood diet, but I think it's more on the mental side to him.

 

[jcassio]

It's the knowledge, skill, training, experience, etc. that is why society is willing to pay more for some jobs that others. Surgeons make a lot of money because not many people are equipped to do the job. You can add ability to the list of reasons why society is willing to pay more, too. NBA players make a great deal because they have an ability that few have. Part of maintaining that ability would include maintaining proper diet, which brings us full circle back to where we started.

First of all, SOCIETY doesn't pay people to work, EMPLOYERS pay people to work. And employers pay what they think they have to pay to get someone with the qualifications they (think) they need. That's called the labor market. In determining what they will pay, it's the market more so than all other factors combined. You think knowledge, skills and education are big factors? How do you explain teachers who only earn 50-60% of what correctional officers earn? I could go on and on with examples, but hopefully you get the point. I'm sure you've seen statistics that show how the more education you have, the more you'll earn. That may be true statistically, but that doesn't mean that with each college course you take, your wage will be that much higher. You can go to college for 10 years and still not be able to make a livable wage, while your next door neighbor can drop out of high school and start a business that nets more in one year than you will earn in your lifetime. How can this be? How is that fair? It's not fair; it's just the market.

Thus the market allows teams to pay incredibly high sums to professional athletes (or, to be more accurate, to some professional athletes). But, dude, they'll still human and they will make mistakes like all the rest of us.

 

[rainmaker]

Oh, i'm not writing it off entirely, I just think that the situation just got blown way out of proportion. Reading through this thread, you would think that Evans came into this season overweight and out of shape, but he did not. Maybe he was affected by his fastfood diet, but I think it's more on the mental side to him.

He came to camp overweight and out of shape, along with others. Westphal has commented on it more than once.

 

[dukeswh]

He came to camp overweight and out of shape, along with others. Westphal has commented on it more than once.

Yes he did come in overweight during camp, but what do you expect from a guy coming off an injury, and after that getting injured again, and now still playing injured? Even Westphal attributed his weight it to that. But my argument is that too much issue is being made with regards to his "fastfood diet". It's like he started the season looking like Eddie Curry. But just like I said, if he didn't mention anything about it, would it be in the discussion now? It's like people want to crucify him because of it.

Whatever caused him to underperform the past few months, I just hope that his recent games is a sign that he is turning it around. If it's his mom's homecooked meal that is behind it, well, then props to her. But I highly doubt that is the major reason for it. But that's just me.