Curry does a 180, gets down to 285

[ducks]

Curry does a 180, gets down to 285
September 5, 2004

BY LACY J. BANKS SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST

This is a revolutionary summer for Bulls center Eddy Curry. Under new management, going by a new nickname (E-City) and flashing a new at ude, the new-look veteran is undergoing a radical revision as he heads into a contract year that will determine if the Bulls will lock him into a long, lucrative contract that could pay him close to $90 million over seven years.

A little over a month ago, he was doing all the wrong things. He was a slouchy hip-hopper tipping the scales at 320 pounds and headed in the opposite direction of the 285-pound target weight the Bulls had set. He got ripped in the media for being on track to come to camp overweight and out of shape for the fourth straight year since the Bulls drafted him out of Thornwood High School.

But new agents Darren White and Lamont Carter compelled him to submit to a massive makeover. No more cornrows, baggy clothes and immaturity.

White and Carter met with Bulls operations chief John Paxson, who was getting phone calls from teams hoping the Bulls were ready to unload Curry, and vowed that in 60 days, they would change Curry into a new man and a sleek player.

Well, on Tuesday, Curry made his periodic pilgrimage to the Bulls to get weighed, and the scales provided some good news for E-City lovers. He weighed in at 285 pounds, and training camp is still more than a month away.

''I have been working my butt off the last few weeks with Tim Grover over at Hoops,'' Curry said Friday.

''This is the first time that I've trimmed down to 280-anything since high school. I used to come to camp to get in shape. But for the first time, I'm going to come to camp in shape. What I'm going to do now is keep working to transform more body fat into solid muscle.''

White and Carter teamed with Grover to put Curry on a strict diet and two-a-day exercise program. They also hired Patrick Huggins as his personal chef and monitored his progress on an almost-daily basis. It's not so much that Curry is eating less. He is eating better, and now critics and doomsayers will have to eat their words if he stays his new course.

''I can eat all the meats and vegetables I want,'' Curry said. ''But no bread, no rice or potatoes, no fruits and no sweet drinks.

"I first started this program out of anger to shut up my critics. But I started feeling so good that I got hooked on the program for the good it's doing for me.''

www.suntimes.com/output/b...anx05.html

[ducks]

time for a weight clause in his contract

[timvp]

If he gets in shape and adds muscle, he could turn into a force. He could easily be a top 5 center.

[KoriEllis]

They really have to help change his psyche. He's really lazy and loves food.

He eats (or used to eat) sandwiches during practice.

Hopefully for him they are helping him change his lifestyle and his train of thought, as well as eating habits.

[Mark in Austin]

I'm convinced there's a good chance this is a "slim down to sign a $90 million deal, then eat myself out of the league like my hero, Oliver Miller" deal.

Curry and Dampier are both chumps until they prove they will perform in a non-contract year.

[ShoogarBear]

Two words: contract year.

I reserve my judgement on "E-city" (yawn) until we see what he does in 05-06.

[CrazyOne]

Yes, the proof is in the pudding here... (insert smilie groaning over bad pun here)

I hope he keeps the at ude, it will help him in a lot more than basketball.