Because he's inspiring a nation to sweat it out to the oldies! Or at least put down the cheeseburger and hit the treadmill a few times a week.

That's the hook of Gary Parrish's excellent story about Pierre Henderson-Niles, a formerly dominant high school recruit who, through sheer force of will, ate his way into John Calipari's doghouse for three years. Niles has contributed nil to the Tigers, beyond his five fingers to the face of a fan in the UAB quasi-brawl in 2007. After being one of the 30 players in his recruiting class, Niles got to Memphis and ballooned to 347 pounds. Now? He weighs 278.

That's a crazy, insane amount of weight loss, but perhaps even more amazing is that it only took Niles one offseason to accomplish it. A mixture of a curtailed dieting plan and a newfound sense of urgency apparently motivated Niles to drop the copious weight, and now, after averaging merely a point per game in three years for Memphis, the big fella could be on his way to a breakout senior season.

Where's that inspiration come from? I'm betting if enough people talked about me this way, I'd start trying to lose some weight too:

"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."

Sasquatch? Ouch. That's harsh.

Anyway, maybe this is the year Niles regains his former form. Maybe not. But Parrish is positively inspired by Niles:

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.

And maybe that's enough. Maybe setting an example for people who would like to drop a healthy 20 pounds without resorting to serious amphetamine use -- you're not hungry because you can't feel your body! -- is all Niles needs to accomplish. But I bet he wouldn't mind a senior-year star turn, either.

(Also see: The Sporting Blog)

Related: College Basketball Media, C-USA Basketball