Pitt's Diaz Graham Twins Detail Weight Gain Journey
PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers' towering twin brothers, Jorge and Guillermo Diaz Graham, had a difficult decision to make when their freshman seasons and first years of college ended.
The wiry teenagers could either head home to Spain and compete for a spot on their national team, or remain in Pittsburgh to work with Pitt's strength and conditioning and nutrition staffs to put on much-needed pounds. They chose the latter and, 20 pounds later, don't regret it.
“It’s always a blessing to play with your national team but we knew going into this season that we needed to put some weight on," Jorge said. "So we had a plan and we had to stay here in order to do it. It was tough but sometimes you have to do things that you don’t like. We did it, it worked out and we gained 20 pounds each so I can’t complain.”
It was a long, grueling daily process that began first with getting enough calories in to compensate for their uncommon size (Jorge stands 6'11, Guillermo at 7'0) and the intense workouts they'd be participating in.
The led off every morning with protein shakes that exceeded 2,000 calories. Then, they'd eat three square meals in between workouts and classes before winding down with another large meal at night. Some of these meals went down easier than others, though, like those they ate when they visited their home of Tenerife in the Canary Islands and their mom indulged them with plenty of home cooking.
"She missed us so much that she was cooking for us all the time," Jorge said. "We started eating a lot back at home and then we kept training. That’s it - training and eating and we gained weight.”
The weight gain was gradual, according to Guillermo. The teammates they worked out with all summer didn't notice right away when the two began to add muscle, but it became evident how the extra 20 pounds each was translating to their games.
It showed up on defense, when the two long, thin rising sophomores began to stand tall against big men who tried to back them down. They're also getting stripped for turnovers less and less often. And on offense, Guillermo, more of a typical center or stretch forward than his brother, has been able to post up with greater ease.
Last season, in battles with the likes of North Carolina's Armando Bacot (6'11, 240 pounds), Duke's Kyle Filipowski (7'0, 230 pounds) and Mississippi State's Tolu Smith (6'11, 245 pounds), Jorge (then 190 pounds) and Guillermo (then 200 pounds) were clearly overwhelmed. It took all of their energy to contend with those college basketball behemoths but their reformed bodies should help ease that strain when they battle many of the same big men in their sophomore years.
“I feel like you can tell if you see games last year, to be able to guard those guys, to box them out we had to give 100% of our energy while those guys were just pushing us around with their 50%," Guillermo said. "I’m not saying now that it’ll be super easy, but I know that I can move guys better now and it won’t require 100% of my energy to box out. Now I can hit them harder and go for a rebound.”
For Jorge, the new weight is unfamiliar. He dealt with a foot injury for most of the summer, which kept him from practicing fully up until very recently. But Guillermo has felt the effects clearly. With time, they expect Jorge to feel the same things and with both twins bigger, stronger, faster and more confident, the Panthers believed offseason improvements have made a significant impact on their depth without adding anyone new.
"I feel faster than before," Guillermo said. "I feel stronger, feel like I can move guys better than before. I feel like when I'm in my stance, guys cannot push me around and I also feel kind of faster and like I jump quicker and higher. More powerful."
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