Scales tipping in Henderson-Niles' favor in Memphis comeback attempt

By Gary Parrish | September 9, 2009

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Josh Pastner had finished individual workouts for the day, showered, and thrown on some clean clothes. Now he was leaving the Finch Center practice facility on the Memphis campus, on his way out the door to a school function that required his presence.

But first, a question.

"Can Pierre have pizza?"

That's what Pastner stopped and asked Richard Hogans, the director of performance enhancement for the Tiger basketball team. Pastner's players were having pies for dinner on this night, you see. Before heading out, the first-year coach needed to make sure such was OK for his real life incredible shrinking 6-foot-8 power forward.

"Where are they getting the pizza?" Hogans asked.

"Garibaldi's," said Pastner.

"I know Garibaldi's can do a grilled chicken pizza," Hogans said. "Just make sure Pierre gets grilled chicken."

Done.

Pastner made sure Pierre got grilled chicken.

Pierre made sure he only ate the grilled chicken.

So yeah, this comeback story is still progressing as planned, and it really is wild to stand there after a workout and watch Pierre Henderson-Niles jog over to a scale, step on it and smile.

"I'm 278," Henderson-Niles said before tackling that grilled chicken. "I was 327 to start the summer."

And 347 not too long ago.

Shedding the pounds

There's a good chance you don't know Pierre Henderson-Niles by name.

Or by face.

Or by statistics.

Truth is, he hasn't done much of note nationally except slap a fan at UAB two years ago, and I'm not here to promise that he'll be one of the surprises of this season. But what I am here to tell you is that Henderson-Niles has at the very least put himself in position to be one of the surprises of this season, and if weight issues have ever kept you from doing what you wanted to do -- running that marathon, getting that job, dating that girl, etc., -- then I offer the Memphis senior as an example of what's possible when you just decide you're tired of wasting your talent.

"Pierre was supposed to be a better version of [former C-USA standout] Chris Massie," said Keith Easterwood, Henderson-Niles AAU coach. "He was a top 40 prospect back then, and he was putting in work. I've seen him dropstep on the Odens and Durants. But then he went and became a Sasquatch, and he hasn't ever been the same."

Consider: Scout.com rated Henderson-Niles as the nation's 33rd-best prospect while he was a high school junior, but he wasn't even listed as one of the nation's top 30 power forwards by the time he enrolled at Memphis. His fall was fast and steep, and it was almost exclusively related to weight gain that had Henderson-Niles on the wrong side of John Calipari for three seasons and on the verge of quitting basketball all together.

"I thought about quitting plenty of times," Henderson-Niles said. "But I stuck it out, and look at me now."

You really should look at him now. From his heaviest point to his current state, Henderson-Niles has shed 69 pounds, i.e., roughly the weight of Tila Tequila. He looks great, says he feels great, and he's made believers out of his teammates and coaches thanks to a newfound work ethic that, frankly, not many expected or thought was possible.

"Nope," Pastner answered quickly when asked whether he ever believed Henderson-Niles would be at 278 on the first week of individual workouts. "I didn't think he could get here at this rapid rate, but he's starting to have self-motivation and self-discipline."

"I've walked [into the Finch Center] on a Saturday night before, and Pierre has been in here on the treadmill on his own. He's just got great confidence about himself now, and he's smiling and he's happy. And I told him that he should feel great about himself. I told him to look in the mirror. He should have super self-esteem. He looks great."

Added assistant Willis Wilson: "When you walk in and a manager says, 'Pierre was in here last night on the treadmill' ... that's a sign that the guy is after something. He's investing in himself in a way that he, apparently, has never done before."

Again, it would be foolish to expect somebody who has averaged 1.6 points through three years of college to be a factor in his senior year. So Memphis fans, if you're reading this, I advise you to be cautious and patient and skeptical, for now. Still, I'll say this: When you consider that Henderson-Niles is in the best shape of his adult life, then remember how dominant he was as a freshman, sophomore and junior in high school, and then recognize that Memphis only has one other true post player (junior college transfer Will Coleman) on its roster, the idea of a breakout season really does start to make some sense.

It could happen out of necessity.

It could happen because Henderson-Niles genuinely flourishes.

Either way, count me among the interested to watch it play out.

"I always thought I'd be one of the top players on the team because at one point I was one of the top players in the country, but then I put on all that weight, and a lot of people don't even know where I'm at," Henderson-Niles said. "But now I want to change that. I want to build that [notoriety] back up and have everybody talking about Pierre Niles."

By the looks of it, he seems on his way to doing exactly that.

The scale still reads 278.

A little grilled chicken didn't hurt a thing.