Brent Yarina, BTN.com Senior Editor, August 22, 2012

Michigan State big man Derrick Nix tipped the scales at 270 pounds last season, according to his MSUSpartans.com profile. Nix wants to be in better shape for his senior season, and he's doing something about it. Something major. He tweeted Tuesday that he will become a vegetarian for the next year. That's Aug. 20, 2012 to Aug. 20, 2013. See Nix's tweet in this post.

https://twitter.com/DerrickNix25/status/238085112774922240

Hey, Nix isn't the first athlete to go the vegetarian route. MLB star Prince Fielder gave it a try in the past, although he never really seemed to slim down. Expect Nix to shed some weight from his frame if he lives up to the tweet.

That big frame helped Nix provide one of the more memorable moments of the 2012 Big Ten tourney, when he punched a hole in the basket support. Watch our video of it below:

h/t @Diamond83

Brent Yarina is a web editor and blogger for BTN.com. Find all of his work here and follow him on twitter at @BTNBrentYarina.