Late Bloomer @ SPU Robbie Will

Always tall for his age, Will began playing basketball in second grade. But he never joined an AAU or other club program, and never invested time in offseason workouts until finishing his junior year at O'Dea overweight and having logged only sporadic minutes off the bench.

"I was lazy," said Will, who swelled to 310 pounds as a junior. "I finally realized I could maybe actually go somewhere and play and get my [college] paid for. That's when it finally clicked."

Will spent that offseason working out diligently. He joined a summer traveling team and dropped 35 pounds. Upon returning to O'Dea for his final season, he was a starter and a team captain and helped the Irish back to the Class 3A state tournament.

Still, he was lightly recruited. To make matters worse, Will had paid about as much attention to academics as he had to his weight, and NCAA play was not an option.

He enrolled at Bellevue Community College in the fall of 2003. In one season as a starter and team captain he brought his grades up and his weight down. When it was over, he accepted a scholarship offer from Seattle Pacific rather than hold out another season for a possible Division I offer.