 Posted: Sat 7:05, 30 Apr 2011 Post subject: Derrick Nix's weight might actually help against U |
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| Derrick Nix's weight might actually help against UCLA's massive Josh Smith Jersey
TAMPA -- Derrick Nix played 11 minutes in Michigan State's lone meeting against Ohio State in February. He scored seven points. These numbers are hardly remarkable, but during that time on the floor, Nix gave a glimpse of what he can do when facing dominant big men. He made OSU's Jared Sullinger look silly on more than one occasion. "I've got game," Nix said this week. "I'm better than a lot of big men in the country, but I don't get to show it because of my weight." Nix likely will get that chance tonight, when MSU takes on UCLA in the NCAA tournament. The Bruins' Josh Smith Jersey is an inch taller than Nix and listed as 35 pounds heavier -- and Nix is listed at 6-feet-9 and 270 pounds. Both players weigh more than their listed weight. Josh Smith Jersey, UCLA's freshman center, is a former McDonald's All-America who averages 10.6 points in 21.5 minutes per game. Nix emulated Josh Smith Jersey on MSU's scout team in practice this week. "That gave me a feel for how he played," Nix said. The sophomore center knows he will see more time tonight than he usually sees in a week -- he averages 8.3 minutes per game. And he knows that the tournament stage is a chance to back up what he says about his low-post skills. "I'm pretty pumped-up," he said. "I've finally run across somebody that is bigger than me. I will be ready." The extra pounds Nix put on this season might actually help him against Josh Smith Jersey. But next season, he said, that weight needs to come off. "I've got to do everything I did (last) summer," he said of when he slimmed down to 270. "Once I lost the weight, I thought, 'OK, I'm good.' Then I forgot what it took to get there. I just got to do everything over again." Contact Shawn Windsor: 313-222-6487 or swindsor@freepress.com. Play for $1 million and compete against Free Press sports writers in our |
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