Pierre Henderson-Niles is a big guy, but since injuring his knee in his first practice with the University of Memphis, Henderson-Niles has become a little too big of a guy. The 6’8” basketball player’s weight ballooned to 250 pounds at the end of the last season, and Coach John Calipari wouldn’t let him play. With good reason of course – no one thinks an elephant on the court will offer any grace or agility.
 

To go from flab to fab, the Tiger's Henderson-Niles now has specific weight goals, and as he meets them, he gets that much closer to playing time. Weighing in at just under 300 pounds yesterday, he’s reached a milestone in his quest to salvage his basketball career (and probably his heart from massive failure).
 

From here Henderson-Nile’s basketball future looks brighter and slimmer. The Memphis Commerical Appeal explains:

After appearing, at times, to be waging a hopeless battle against the scales, Henderson-Niles seems to have finally turned a corner. Though he still has work to do -- coach John Calipari wants him to play at 280 pounds -- it's already a long way from the 350 he weighed at the end of last season.

And the difference has been obvious in early workouts. Wednesday, for example, was arguably the best practice Henderson-Niles has had at Memphis, showing the nimble feet and quick hands that made him dominant at Ridgeway High School.

Now heading into his junior year, Henderson-Niles is giving Calipari hope that he doesn't just have a serviceable backup to Shawn Taggart but a true contributor in the post.

If Henderson-Niles can trim down, he has potential to be a powerhouse for the team or at least improve upon his 1.1 points and 1.5 rebounds for his career. Because even at a measly 280 pounds, he’d be scary as hell to have barreling down at you on the court.