Breakout for Bookout: finally healthy--well, almost--Kevin Bookout is putting the boom back in Sooners basketball.(College Basketball)(Kevin Bookout)

Kevin Bookout bores easily. But after shoulder surgery last February, he was forced to sit idly and recuperate. With nothing to do in the moment, he looked ahead to what needed to be done when rest turned into rehabilitation, and thoughts moved from a season lost to the next season's possibilities. He made a list.

"I wrote down some stuff that I needed to improve on--my outside shooting, my left hand, more confidence shooting free throws," says Bookout. "It was a lot of little stuff I never had time to break down."

Bookout wasn't going to spend his time feeling sorry for himself after a disappointing sophomore season, when his severely sprained right shoulder kept him from practicing with the team even once and allowed him to play in only 13 games. As it turned out, the surgery--which also forced the All-American shot putter to skip the spring track season--has been a blessing in disguise for a slimmer and quicker Bookout, who's leading a resurgence for the Sooners. Getting into better shape wasn't on Bookout's list, but someone else was ready to add to his things to do. A couple of months after surgery, the Sooners brought in Darby Rich, a basketball-only strength and conditioning coach. Coach Kelvin Sampson wanted his 6-8 center to have more stamina.

Bookout first weighed in for Rich at 278 pounds. With Bookout's activity limited because of the healing shoulder, his diet was the first thing Rich changed. No more sweets, fried foods or sugary drinks, including Gatorade. No more white breads or dinner rolls, which was one of the hardest things for Bookout to put aside. "He's a big country boy," Rich says. "He just likes to eat. Pretty much anything you pulled out (of his diet) would be something he likes to eat."

Then came the workouts--whatever Bookout could do while the shoulder was healing. He worked on hand-eye coordination and basketball-specific conditioning drills. He was on the treadmill or elliptical machine twice a day before the shoulder could handle the impact of running. Then--finally--Bookout was off and running, something he never had done during track and field season because he had to save his legs to throw during meets. Unable to compete in the shot put last spring, he could work on his legs and concentrate on the coming basketball season.

Bookout dropped to 256 pounds at one point, and Rich says he now is staying around 262. More important, Bookout's body fat dropped from 19.7 to 12.2 percent. Any weight he has gained back is muscle.

Although Bookout has slimmed down, his body isn't the chiseled type that graces the covers of athletic magazines. Bookout's best attribute, according to Sampson, is his mental game--playing smart and within himself. And though Rich agrees Bookout is not as gifted athletically as someone who can run a 4.3 40 or has a 40-inch vertical, he credits Bookout with some other important athletic skills.