Does Austin Freeman Need A Food Intervention?

Much was made before the season about Austin Freeman's weight loss. Sports Illustrated profiled the rotund swingman in its preview issue:

In late March, Freeman conceded to coach John Thompson III that he had been overweight and wanted to do something about it.

So in the off-season Freeman shed 12 pounds to get down to 227. The extra bulk he carried last year sapped some of his explosiveness on offense and limited his effectiveness as a defender.

This was welcome news, especially for a player whose three-point shooting, free-throw shooting and defense were abysmal in 2008-2009. Perhaps shedding a few pounds would increase explosiveness, improve 2nd half free throw shooting and generally aid the ability to finish games strong. Two games into the Big East season, Austin's play has been better. His shooting has been acceptable and his minutes have increased. With the holidays over and the Hoyas preparing for the roughest stretch of opponents this season, it seems like a perfect time for Austin to continue his healthy ways, right? Wrong. Some disturbing Tweets popped up today from his Twitter account. The first, a preview of things to come:

We goin to Ruth Chris....

Not Subway? Not Chop't? Unsatisfied with simply telling us where he was eating, Austin next provided a photo of exactly what he was eating:

http://twitgoo.com/awlza this is my steak.........24 ounce steak

Eating steak at a steakhouse, not exactly a shocker I suppose. I'll give him a mulligan to celebrate a nice win with some good food -- just lay off the dessert. Wait, what's that? Time for cake?:

http://twitgoo.com/awmd1 wow this cake is amazing...can u say Cake Boss

All that preseason work, slowly going down the drain. Using some nutritional information from this website, I estimated the calories and grams of fat from Austin's meal. I assumed he ate some creamed spinach and a salad as well:

Not exactly the meal you'd expect from a player set to battle Marquette in three days. To answer the question from the title of this post: yes, Austin probably needs a food intervention. He needs someone to tell him that the salad bar at Leo O'Donovan Dining Hall is his friend. So are Quick Pita, Subway, Sweetgreen and even some health-friendly items on the Tombs menu. No Ruth's Chris, no Philly Pizza, no Pizzeria Uno. Someone needs to step up and organize this event. Unfortunately, it probably won't be Greg Monroe, who couldn't resist the golden arches just hours before the DePaul game:

ahhhhh goood ole mickey d's