Tyler Davis and Robert Williams are back and center in the Texas A&M team photo. Standing shoulder-to-shoulder, the Aggie bigs – both 6 foot 10 -- look the part of future pro players.
That image, compared with the one from a year ago, reveals just how much the two have changed. They now are all grown up with somewhere important to go.
"They've improved markedly since they've been here, kind of both in their own ways," Darby Rich, the A&M men's basketball strength and conditioning coach, said.
Neither Davis nor Williams arrived looking like they look or playing like they play. It took work in the weight room, practice on the court and changes in their diet to go from boys to men.
"I've grown tremendously in all phases, becoming a man and not just in basketball," Davis said. "It's learning how to play the game, and learning how to take care of my body. It's all the little things that have added up over the last three years to me becoming who I am today. I had a lot of people who had their hand in that."
Davis weighed 350 pounds as a freshman at Plano West High School, dropping 70 pounds before his senior season. He weighed "280-something" when he arrived at A&M and was listed at 270 pounds as a sophomore.
Davis now weighs 260 pounds and is in the best shape of his life.
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"My body looks so different than when I first came here or even in high school," Davis said. "But it's always the process that I'm looking forward to. I look back sometimes, but I'm always looking forward and trying to climb the ladder and become better than what I am now. It is crazy to look back on, but I'm still hunting. I'm still trying to get better."
Davis is the stereotypical gym rat, frequently at work by 6 a.m. That hasn't changed. What has changed is his work efficiency.
Davis never lifted weights in high school. He didn't have a strict diet either, with Chicago deep dish pizza his biggest weakness.
He now feasts on eggs, lean chicken, salmon and lots of kale and spinach.
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"Tyler's always been a terrific worker," Rich said. "I think every year people come back and say, 'Well, Tyler did this amount of work,' and it shows. He's always worked. I think this year the main thing for Tyler was he really bought into what we were asking him to do from the nutrition side of things. That, with the work, enabled him to really make some significant changes in his body where he's leaner, but he doesn't actually weigh a lot less than he did in previous years. He's just carrying that a lot better. He's actually stronger. He's put himself definitely in a position this year where he's able to make athletic plays, play over the rim, block more shots, dunk in traffic and things that he hasn't been able to do. He's basically rewired his body and maintained his strength while he did it."
While Davis needed to lose body fat, Williams needed to gain weight after arriving at A&M weighing 213 pounds. He has added more than 20 pounds in two years, now tipping the scale at 244.
"Rob has been great in the weight room," Rich said. "I don't know if it's one of those things where he knew if he wanted to play in the NBA he had to improve his body. You hear all the time the recruiting services or the blue-blood schools missed on Rob. I don't think they missed on Rob. I think Rob in high school, as a junior and senior, was a tall, thin athlete who you couldn't necessarily project he would be 245. He's a totally different player at 245. All of sudden, he's a grown man, and when you're grown man you can play over the rim. That makes a big difference."
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Williams lifted in high school . . . but not really. When he first began working with Rich, Williams could barely lift the bar. He now bench presses 220 pounds.
"I was really small, but I fell in love with the weight room," said Williams, who is from  Oil City, Louisiana. "Every day I was in there, I just wanted to get bigger, to see my body starting to fill out.
"I always wanted to be bigger, see what it would be like, so I gave it my all in the weight room."
Williams, who was not highly recruited in high school, quickly caught NBA scouts' attention during his freshman season. His 7-foot, 5-inch wingspan, along with his athleticism and his motor intrigued talent evaluators.
Â
"I knew what I could do," Williams said of coming out of nowhere. "Everyone else didn't know."
He was projected as a top-10 choice in last year's NBA Draft. Williams, though, felt he still had growing to do and surprised everyone by opting to return to College Station.
"I'm better physically and mentally than I was last season," Williams said in validating his decision.
Williams has turned into a dunking, blocking machine. His 64 blocks and 9.0 rebounds per game lead the Aggies. His dunks are their own highlight reel, with Williams saying he has "too many to remember" to name a favorite.
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"He's incredible," Davis said. "It's rare that you see a talent like that. You see what he does on the court. He's a highlight reel. He just makes it so difficult on the other teams to match up with us and guard us with his size, his athleticism and his length."
Davis' A&M bio calls him a "blue-collar, back-to-the-basket center who gives A&M one of the best physical low-block presences in the country."Â His 181 field goals and 14.7 scoring average are team bests, and he also averages 8.7 rebounds per game while playing 29 minutes a game.
Davis ranks in the top 15 in school history in scoring and rebounding.
"He's amazing," Williams said. "He's the best player ever to play at A&M."
If Davis stays for his senior season, he will leave his mark on the record book. Both players, though, will have decisions to make after the season.
Williams already has turned down millions to remain at A&M for his sophomore season. NBADraft.net projects him as the 14th overall selection in this summer's draft.
Williams said it's "weird" to think about one day playing with or against Kevin Durant, his favorite NBA player, and other pros. But he insists he's not thinking about it much.
"I try to live, honestly, day to day, practice to practice, game to game," Williams said. "Just think about what we have right now."
Davis isn't among the 60 prospects NBADraft.com projects to be drafted, which makes his return more likely than Williams. Davis, like Williams, said the future can wait.
"I'm just really focused on this season," Davis said. "We're fighting to get into the [NCAA] Tournament and make a tournament run."
The Aggies, with three consecutive victories to close out the regular season, are 20-11 and appear headed toward the NCAA Tournament. Despite the ups and downs this season, all their goals remain in front of them heading into the SEC Tournament, where they face Alabama on Thursday.
"We still have a chance to accomplish all the goals that we set in the offseason," Williams said. "We just have to finish it."
That image, compared with the one from a year ago, reveals just how much the two have changed. They now are all grown up with somewhere important to go.
"They've improved markedly since they've been here, kind of both in their own ways," Darby Rich, the A&M men's basketball strength and conditioning coach, said.
Neither Davis nor Williams arrived looking like they look or playing like they play. It took work in the weight room, practice on the court and changes in their diet to go from boys to men.
"I've grown tremendously in all phases, becoming a man and not just in basketball," Davis said. "It's learning how to play the game, and learning how to take care of my body. It's all the little things that have added up over the last three years to me becoming who I am today. I had a lot of people who had their hand in that."
Davis weighed 350 pounds as a freshman at Plano West High School, dropping 70 pounds before his senior season. He weighed "280-something" when he arrived at A&M and was listed at 270 pounds as a sophomore.
Davis now weighs 260 pounds and is in the best shape of his life.
Â
"My body looks so different than when I first came here or even in high school," Davis said. "But it's always the process that I'm looking forward to. I look back sometimes, but I'm always looking forward and trying to climb the ladder and become better than what I am now. It is crazy to look back on, but I'm still hunting. I'm still trying to get better."
Davis is the stereotypical gym rat, frequently at work by 6 a.m. That hasn't changed. What has changed is his work efficiency.
Davis never lifted weights in high school. He didn't have a strict diet either, with Chicago deep dish pizza his biggest weakness.
He now feasts on eggs, lean chicken, salmon and lots of kale and spinach.
Â
"Tyler's always been a terrific worker," Rich said. "I think every year people come back and say, 'Well, Tyler did this amount of work,' and it shows. He's always worked. I think this year the main thing for Tyler was he really bought into what we were asking him to do from the nutrition side of things. That, with the work, enabled him to really make some significant changes in his body where he's leaner, but he doesn't actually weigh a lot less than he did in previous years. He's just carrying that a lot better. He's actually stronger. He's put himself definitely in a position this year where he's able to make athletic plays, play over the rim, block more shots, dunk in traffic and things that he hasn't been able to do. He's basically rewired his body and maintained his strength while he did it."
While Davis needed to lose body fat, Williams needed to gain weight after arriving at A&M weighing 213 pounds. He has added more than 20 pounds in two years, now tipping the scale at 244.
"Rob has been great in the weight room," Rich said. "I don't know if it's one of those things where he knew if he wanted to play in the NBA he had to improve his body. You hear all the time the recruiting services or the blue-blood schools missed on Rob. I don't think they missed on Rob. I think Rob in high school, as a junior and senior, was a tall, thin athlete who you couldn't necessarily project he would be 245. He's a totally different player at 245. All of sudden, he's a grown man, and when you're grown man you can play over the rim. That makes a big difference."
Â
Williams lifted in high school . . . but not really. When he first began working with Rich, Williams could barely lift the bar. He now bench presses 220 pounds.
"I was really small, but I fell in love with the weight room," said Williams, who is from  Oil City, Louisiana. "Every day I was in there, I just wanted to get bigger, to see my body starting to fill out.
"I always wanted to be bigger, see what it would be like, so I gave it my all in the weight room."
Williams, who was not highly recruited in high school, quickly caught NBA scouts' attention during his freshman season. His 7-foot, 5-inch wingspan, along with his athleticism and his motor intrigued talent evaluators.
Â
"I knew what I could do," Williams said of coming out of nowhere. "Everyone else didn't know."
He was projected as a top-10 choice in last year's NBA Draft. Williams, though, felt he still had growing to do and surprised everyone by opting to return to College Station.
"I'm better physically and mentally than I was last season," Williams said in validating his decision.
Williams has turned into a dunking, blocking machine. His 64 blocks and 9.0 rebounds per game lead the Aggies. His dunks are their own highlight reel, with Williams saying he has "too many to remember" to name a favorite.
Â
"He's incredible," Davis said. "It's rare that you see a talent like that. You see what he does on the court. He's a highlight reel. He just makes it so difficult on the other teams to match up with us and guard us with his size, his athleticism and his length."
Davis' A&M bio calls him a "blue-collar, back-to-the-basket center who gives A&M one of the best physical low-block presences in the country."Â His 181 field goals and 14.7 scoring average are team bests, and he also averages 8.7 rebounds per game while playing 29 minutes a game.
Davis ranks in the top 15 in school history in scoring and rebounding.
"He's amazing," Williams said. "He's the best player ever to play at A&M."
If Davis stays for his senior season, he will leave his mark on the record book. Both players, though, will have decisions to make after the season.
Williams already has turned down millions to remain at A&M for his sophomore season. NBADraft.net projects him as the 14th overall selection in this summer's draft.
Williams said it's "weird" to think about one day playing with or against Kevin Durant, his favorite NBA player, and other pros. But he insists he's not thinking about it much.
"I try to live, honestly, day to day, practice to practice, game to game," Williams said. "Just think about what we have right now."
Davis isn't among the 60 prospects NBADraft.com projects to be drafted, which makes his return more likely than Williams. Davis, like Williams, said the future can wait.
"I'm just really focused on this season," Davis said. "We're fighting to get into the [NCAA] Tournament and make a tournament run."
The Aggies, with three consecutive victories to close out the regular season, are 20-11 and appear headed toward the NCAA Tournament. Despite the ups and downs this season, all their goals remain in front of them heading into the SEC Tournament, where they face Alabama on Thursday.
"We still have a chance to accomplish all the goals that we set in the offseason," Williams said. "We just have to finish it."