Jared Sullinger's been hitting the gym

The knock on Jared Sullinger -- if you can say he has a knock -- is that the big man listed at 6'9", 280 lb was, well, too big.

While his ample backside is a major reason what he is so effective at establishing position in the paint, and by all indications his footwork and quickness on the block haven't been hindered by his girth, the extra poundage that Sullinger carries around certainly affects his ability and potential. Put on a 20 pound weight vest and see if you can run as fast or jump as high.

But, you see, Sullinger is a smart kid that comes from a basketball family with a basketball coach of a dad. He knows that shedding some of that baby fat will make him a better player, and he's put in the work this summer to do so. From the Cleveland Plain-Dealer:

He has a waist now, and appears to have lost so much weight one has to wonder if the loss of his formally wide axis on the block will now make him a less lethal post player. The Buckeyes sophomore was listed at 6-10, 281 pounds, but he looked possibly 30 pounds lighter than that, and moved like it, too.

Yet Sullinger said the moves were real, but the weight loss was only a mirage.

"I weigh 275," he said. "I've lost 10 to 15 pounds since the end of the season. I want to get down to 255-260 and stay there."

[...]

"I did the boxing spring quarter against the [heavy] bag. I did boxing, kicks, punches. I would do jabs with each arm, a minute straight; hooks each arm a minute straight, and body blows, left-right-left, a minute straight," he said. "With all the running we do, the strength and conditioning we do, all the open gyms we have, it's only a matter of time before the weight starts to fall off."

Sullinger is never going to play like a Dwight Howard or Amare Stoudamire. He isn't going to be effective because of his speed and athleticism and leaping ability. He's always going to be limited athletically.

But that doesn't mean he can't be an effective NBA player and a future all-star. Look at Kevin Love and Paul Millsap. They've become above-average power forwards in the NBA by using their strength, smarts, and rear end to carve out space in the paint.

That doesn't mean that getting into shape is a bad thing. It means he'll be able to run up and down the court for 35 mpg instead of 32. It means he'll be able to get that much higher on his jump hook. It means his spin move on the block will be that much quicker.

Considering that Sullinger averaged 17.2 ppg and 10.2 rpg as a freshman, that's a scary thought for Big Ten opponents.