Jason Jitoboh (the big one on the right) cuts up with point guard Tyree Appleby (the smaller one) during a summer practice.
Jitoboh Streamlines Focus, Waistline
Monday, August 23, 2021 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
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By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A few months back (and several pounds ago), Jason Jitoboh came up with a variation to the "Before-and-After" visual comparison. Instead of side-by-side still shots, Jitoboh turned his cell phone on himself, pushed the "Video" button, set the device down and did a slow 360-degree turn for the camera.
Florida's jumbo junior center has done one such clip every two weeks since. Jitoboh, though, has not gone back to review that very first spin and has no plans to do so anytime soon.
"Nooooooo. Not until I get to where I need to be," he said. "I know when I look at it I'm going to say, 'Man, why'd I let that happen.' That's why I'm doing what I'm doing. I made a commitment to myself and the team."
That commitment dates to Jitoboh's exit meeting with Coach Mike White following the 2020-21 season that saw Jitoboh, a 6-foot-11 behemoth listed (generously) at 305 pounds, totaled 11 points and seven rebounds in just 44 minutes over 12 games; with 13 DNPs.
The Gators could not play a big man who labored to jog from one free-throw line to the next.
Attending this particular meeting was strength and conditioning coordinator Preston Greene, who made it clear things had to change on the training front. Period. Jitoboh took the criticism head on and neither pushed back nor sulked. Instead, he pledged to stay in Gainesville for the entire offseason and show up daily for workouts, if need be. Basically, a challenge was thrown down and he accepted it.
That was five months ago.
On Sunday, the basketball facility was empty except for the 45 minutes Greene's assistant showed up to put Jitoboh through his extra session. It was Jitoboh's 97th visit over the last 112 days (many of them solo). A recent example of a Jitoboh workout: How 'bout eight sets of 500 meters on the rowing machine? After a lift, of course.
"He's been great in here," Greene said. "Best on the team."
And here's the rub: He needed to be.
The "Farmer's Walk," as demonstrated byJason Jitoboh, is a 50-yard down-and-back stroll with dueling 125-pound bars during UF's Friday morning "Strongman" training sessions. {Photo by Hannah White}
Jitoboh's shrinking waist line (more on that later) and improved strength doesn't guarantee anything as far as his playing time or the Gators' success in 2021-22. It could, however, give both parties a much better chance — assuming his commitment carries on — considering the makeup of a perimeter-heavy roster that after 6-11, second-team All-Southeastern Conference forward Colin Castleton is sorely lacking in size in the post, what with a pair of 6-7 forwards, Anthony Duruji and Boston College transfer CJ Felder, the lone experienced front court players currently in the mix.
[Note: The status of senior forward Keyontae Johnson following his collapse and season-ending malady remains unchanged for now]
What a difference another big (whether to back up Castleton or play alongside him for matchup purposes) would make. Jitoboh is a very intelligent young man. The UF coaches will tell you he's possesses one of the best basketball IQs on the team. He gets it. All of it. Now, he just has to do it.
"I feel that I can be real impactful for this team, and I feel that if I can do what I need to do then this team has a chance to be really good," he said. "If I under-perform, I believe the team will under-perform. So I have to do the work and that's what I'm going to do."
Jitoboh has done some very difficult work so far — "Hardest stuff I've ever done in my life," he said — and it's about to get tougher, as the start of the fall semester brings the start of the preseason conditioning phase. As in running.
Anyone recall Jitoboh running last year? Didn't think so.
But the year before, as a freshman, Jitoboh worked his way into a regular spot in the rotation late in the season — after shedding about 30 pounds — when his conditioning improved. OK, so he only averaged 1.8 points and 1.3 rebounds on the year, but he played in each of the final 12 games as a backup to Kerry Blackshear Jr., and had a couple plus performances (3-for-3 from the floor vs. LSU; four rebounds at Texas A&M) in light minutes that flashed his potential.
Imagine if the Gators could have more of these type moments from Jason Jitoboh in 2021-22/
Then COVID hit and it hit Jitoboh as bad as anyone. The quarantine took away his support system. So instead of being around coaches and teammates he was home in Chattanooga, Tenn., with no one to monitor his activity but himself. When it came time to report back to school, Jitoboh was woefully out of shape and things only got worse when he had to undergo surgery during the preseason to remove a pin in his foot from a prior surgery, which meant he couldn't run.
Eventually, his weight ballooned (wait for it) to just shy of 340.
"My freshman year, the trajectory I was headed, it was all looking good for me, but then COVID happened, I had the foot and the screw and it all just stunted my growth basketball-wise," said Jitoboh, who won't turn 21 until next March. "I spent the whole season playing catch-up."
No one wants to play conditioning catch-up during a season. So Jitoboh, thus far, is making good on his commitment that such won't be the case this season. He credits the positive vibes of both Greene and trainer David Werner for keeping him on track.
He is under 300 pounds (and to repeat, the running portion of the preseason hasn't even begun) and now and is shooting for a sub-290 weigh-in down the line.
"For me, it's my all about my wind, my conditioning," said Jitoboh, whose goal is 285. "I believe the's the only thing holding me back; the ability to run the floor. If I can do that, if I can get my wind up and my motor going, I'm going to be a factor. The coaches know I have the skill. They know, if I can get to where I need to be, I can really help this team."
