Tyreke Evans credits soul food for improved quickness
Reigning Rookie of the Year Tyreke Evans(notes) has had a comparatively rough sophomore campaign in Sacramento. After becoming only the fourth rookie ever to average 20 points, five rebounds and five assists, Evans has stumbled on his path to becoming a true superstar.
In part, that's because he's struggled with plantar fasciitis and seen a downturn in his quickness. But if you listen to Evans, the issue was with his diet, not his foot. From Jason Jones in The Sacramento Bee:
Evans said a recent visit from his mother, Bonita, and grandmother, Alice, for the holidays helped get him back on track, and the home-cooked meals have helped him drop some weight.
Kings coach Paul Westphal said Evans looked as quick as he has seen him this season in Tuesday's loss to Atlanta. Evans credited soul food with aiding his quickness and keeping him from the drive-thru window.
"I lost a little bit of weight," Evans said. "I've been eating right since my mom's been in town. So I've been getting the speed, and the rhythm I had coming off the last game was pretty good."
According to Evans, he was eating too much fast food and didn't have the usual hop in his step. On the other hand, soul food is not exactly healthy and commonly cited as a path to heart disease and other forms of ill health. So, who is right here?
It's tempting to say that Evans has no idea what he's talking about here, but as far as I know no one has ever tested the effects of soul food on plantar fasciitis. Perhaps Tyreke and his family have stumbled upon a previously unknown cure here.
I trust that our nation's leaders in sports medicine will look into the issue. Hey, some of the best discoveries in the history of medicine happened by accident. Maybe Mrs. Evans is the next Alexander Fleming.
