Supersize me

DaRon "Deuce" Holmes II was co-MVP last year (the first freshman men’s basketball Flyer to be an MVP). He led the team in scoring (12.8 points per game). He set the school record for blocked shots in a season (81). He made the A-10 All-Rookie Team and the A-10 All-Defensive Team.

He plays basketball really, really well.

He also eats a lot.

Size and strength matter when other large people want to occupy the space that you see as rightfully yours. When Holmes arrived on campus in midsummer, he weighed 215 pounds. Adding muscle requires calories. So strength coach Casey Cathrall mapped out a plan.

“We wanted DaRon to eat five or six times a day,” Cathrall said. “Every three or four hours, 60-90 minutes before basketball and weights, and immediately after.”

That adds up to roughly 5,000 calories a day, with about 50 percent of those from carbs. And, Cathrall said, “a minimum of 230 grams of protein.”

Also, plenty of fluids. Besides the water he drinks at practice, Holmes drinks a gallon of water a day. “To do this,” Cathrall said, “we had DaRon carry a gallon water jug around wherever he went.”

When UD Magazine shot the photo below, the 6-foot-10 Holmes weighed 231 pounds, shooting for 235.