University of North Carolina Athletics
Brownlow: Sculpting A Pebble
July 13, 2010 | Men's Basketball
July 13, 2010
By Lauren Brownlow
The thud of a medicine ball hitting the ground and the thwack of large ropes bouncing off the floor echo in rhythm through the Smith Center weight room. Sean May, Brendan Haywood, Marvin Williams, Jackie Manuel and David Noel - four national championships, six Final Fours and plenty of NBA experience between them - are hard at work under the watchful eye of Jonas Sahratian.
The Tar Heel strength and conditioning coach has had plenty of success stories, like May's weight loss, Tyler Zeller's recent weight gain and sculpting Tyler Hansbrough.
He now faces the biggest challenge of his career - putting weight on the incredibly narrow frame of John Henson.
But the rising sophomore has been hard at work since the season ended, getting up from 183 pounds when he got to Chapel Hill - or 184.8, if you ask him - to as high as 210.
"I told Jonas I'm going to be his Golden Child. He kind of laughs at that," Henson said,, flashing his boyish grin. "We've always been good. He pushes me hard and that's only because he wants to see me achieve my goals and I thank him for that every day."
Sahratian had him taking pictures of his meals, but the emails were so sporadic he asked him to stop. That seemed to shake up Henson.
"I think it was kind of like a little shock to his system," Sahratian said. "He was like, `Whoa, he's really mad at me for not being diligent with this.' So I think he said, `Okay, I've got to get my butt in gear.'"
When Sahratian saw 184.8 on that scale Henson's first day, he simply shook his head. "He's been the one guy that I've sat up the most at night pulling my hair out and probably giving me more gray hair, going, `Okay, what do I have to do with him?'"
Henson dreaded going to the weight room. He was the by far the lightest of his teammates and he was lifting significantly less than they were. Athletes don't like to fail, and the weight room was the one place he couldn't excel.
"I'm not going to lie - at first, I hated it. It's not fun being the weakest guy or the guy who always gets picked on or the guy who's always got to be paid attention to, Henson said. "As I've gained weight and gotten stronger, it's something that I've liked. When you see progress, you start to like stuff like that. It's just a fun place to be right now."
About three weeks into his full-scale program, he saw the scale jump from 193 to 202. He eyed the scale in disbelief, stepped off, then stepped back on. Same number. He didn't quite believe it still until he weighed himself 2-3 times a day for the next week. When the weight gain was confirmed, his energy level picked up.
With a recent rash of pickup games and a busier schedule, his weight is down to 206 and it continues to yo-yo. Six meals a day, some including six eggs and steaks or even a No. 7 at Wendy's with three junior cheeseburgers on the side, are hard to keep on the slender forward.
"A regular person if you don't feel that hungry, you might have a little bit left on your plate but me, I might eat that whole plate and then a little bit more," Henson said. "It's tough sometimes but you've got to realize your goal and sit there and just do it. It might take a little bit longer, but you just do it."
Henson has a brand new George Foreman grill, and he and his roommates - incoming freshmen Harrison Barnes, Reggie Bullock and Kendall Marshall - are trying to be diligent, buying the right groceries and teaching themselves to cook. It's difficult for any college student to eat right, but he's learning.
He has a good example in Tyler Zeller, who's continued to pack on weight and is noticeably bulkier. Henson's bulk is somewhat subtler, but it's more apparent comparing him to pictures from his high school days.
He and Zeller will be the centerpieces of a suddenly thin frontcourt, and they understand the responsibility they have to step up their respective games. "That was an unfortunate thing, the (Wear) twins leaving, but it was a blessing for me and Zeller because we were kind of set in what we needed to do. We've just got to go out and do it," Henson said. " I think that's pushed me and him to work harder than we ever have before."
And perhaps the most rewarding part of this experience for Henson is that he has noticed a difference in his game. Sahratian said the objective is to keep the only advantage Henson has in the post - his quickness - while adding enough bulk to keep him competitive against the likes of the ACC's thicker big men.
He'd like to get up to 220, but Sahratian doesn't want to get stuck on goals - just gaining strength and muscle is enough. He'll be back in Tampa from the 23rd until August 7th, and those differences he's noticed in his game will push him to keep up what he's started.
"People tell me all the time some of the plays that I make now, some of the hits that I take now, if I would have took that hit last year I probably would have fell on the ground," Henson said.
"It is a big difference. Just 15 pounds, I'm nowhere near the size of most people regardless but just this little weight is helping me a lot."
