KANSAS CITY, Mo. — When Jeff Capel saw Tiny Gallon at the start of his senior season of high school, the Oklahoma forward had the build of an overweight ex-lineman but the shot of a great perimeter player.

Gallon spent the past year whittling his weight down from 360 pounds, becoming one of a handful of freshmen forwards expected to contribute on Big 12 Conference basketball teams this season. His efforts to slim down, though, echoed a common theme as Big 12 coaches discussed the progress their best players have made this season.

“We weighed him on Sunday and he’s 290,” Capel said. “He’s awfully proud of that. He’s very talented. He has an incredible skill set.”

Oklahoma coach Jeff Capel talks to the media during men's Big 12 Conference college basketball media day Thursday, Oct. 22, 2009 at the Sprint Center in Kansas City. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Kansas coach Bill Self, center, talks to the media during the men's Big 12 Conference college basketball media day, Thursday, Oct. 22, 2009, at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

As they addressed the press at Big 12 media day on Thursday, the conference coaches repeatedly heralded athletes who have become trimmer and more athletic. The change could not only affect individual athletes, but the overall athleticism of the league this season.

Gallon, a freshman, will likely shave more weight as he adjusts to the college game. Capel said the 6-foot-9 graduate of Virginia basketball powerhouse Oak Hill Academy has a 7-foot-4 wingspan that gives him incredible versatility. It’s the reason he can drift into pretty much any position on the court, a habit Capel is trying to break.

“I haven’t seen any 6-9, 290 pound shooting guards out there,” Capel said. “LeBron (James) is close, but, you know, by any means, he’s not LeBron.”

Texas forward Dexter Pittman is likewise losing weight and adding options to his game. Longhorns coach Rick Barnes said Pittman, a senior, has lost nearly 100 pounds since arriving in Austin. After getting sick a few weeks ago he weighed just 281 pounds wet.

At one point Pittman’s pared down diet left him short of energy on the practice court. Now that he is smaller, Barnes said, he has become more athletic.

Barnes hopes his stamina is up as well.

“He’s a guy that can do some things, catches everything,” Barnes said. “And he’ll be a guy that we really need to be the team we want to be. He’s a guy that probably needs to be on the floor 26 minutes a night for us.”

Kansas State forward Curtis Kelly, a transfer from Connecticut, has lost 30 pounds since arriving in Manhattan, Kan. Iowa State guard Lucca Staiger slimmed down this summer while playing for the national team in his native Germany.

Even Texas Tech senior Mike Singletary lost approximately 20 pounds after working with strength coach Chris Braden this summer.

“Now Mike’s able to drive more, get by guys,” Tech coach Pat Knight said. “He actually dunks in the half-court situation.”

More athletes will likely make the same kind of physical metamorphosis throughout this and coming seasons. It’s the natural progression of college basketball, Knight said, that athletes become more powerful.

That will change the game, particularly on defense.

“The so-called fundamentals, when it comes to defense, are going out the door just because guys are so powerful and strong,” Knight said.

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