As a pre-med student-athlete, Dominican University of California men's basketball player Connor Haysbert is enjoying his best year and he has two simple reasons for his success. He changed his mind and he changed his diet. The end result is Haysbert is on the Dean's List as a biological sciences major and is playing more minutes in the Penguins' lineup after losing almost 50 pounds.

“It's big time self esteem,” the 6-foot-8, 210-pound junior forward says as Dominican prepares for its non-conference game at the University of San Francisco on Dec. 29.

As a freshman arriving from Center High School in Sacramento in 2010, Haysbert struggled academically and athletically. The time and commitment he devoted to improving as a basketball player affected his focus on studies.  He longed to be a doctor someday, but he wasn't so sure that being a biological sciences major was the best choice. He thought it might be easier for him to change his major to communications, until his professors put a full-court press on Haysbert.

They saw a bright, smart, articulate young man with potential and met with him to encourage pursuing his goal of being a doctor.

“He has a can-do attitude and he just needed affirmation that he can do it,” says Dr. Ghosh, outgoing chair of Dominican's Department of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. “He is a great role model.”

The pep talk is just what Haysbert needed.

“It's the best decision I made to stick with it,” he says.

That decision was reaffirmed this past summer when Haysbert visited his Uncle Pat Ryan, who is a cardiothoracic surgeon for Providence Regional Medical Center in Everett, Wash. Haysbert shadowed his uncle and was able to witness open-heart surgeries. He also observed knee and shoulder surgeries performed by orthopedic surgeons who recommended that Haysbert, with his athletics background, should enter the same medical specialty.

“I have always loved how the human body works. I've always wanted to be the one who can fix it,” Haysbert says. “I guess I'm kind of the stereotype for orthopedics.”

Unfortunately, Haysbert was given another label, one he didn't like. He was heavy, as high as 260 pounds, and that sometimes translated to being lazy. When Booker T. Harris became Dominican's head coach during Haysbert's sophomore year, he told Haysbert he had to get in better shape.

But Harris never expected Haysbert to return for his junior season looking so lean and fit.

“I was surprised he had a new body. He looked like a differentperson,” Harris says. “He was standing taller. I was happy he committed himself to that task and saw the results he wanted.”

The turning point for Haysbert came when he met with his uncle near Seattle. Haysbert's mother, Tracy, started the meat- and dairy-free vegan diet and asked her son to join her. However, Haysbert wasn't fully sold on it until his Uncle Pat handed him a copy of the book “The China Study,” which offered a detailed scientific examination and breakdown of eating habits in America.

“When he gave me the book, I thought there's no way,” Haysbert says. “But 15 pages in, I said I'm going to have to try this.”
Haysbert jumped feet first into the vegan plan and it didn't take long for him to see results. He stopped cold turkey.

“No meat, no dairy, no anything and it was strict. It was tough,” Haysbert says. “But waking up and looking in the mirror and thinking, 'Oh. My gosh!' That was the motivation to keep going.”

In the past, even when Haysbert ran and worked out, the weight wouldn't come off. But with the vegan diet and exercise, the pounds came off quick. By the time he began conditioning workouts in the fall at Dominican, Haysbert had lost 40 pounds. His coach and teammates were shocked.

“It translated into more confidence,” Harris says. “He was nimble and more active. He was pursuing rebounds and his lateral movement side to side was so much better. I think his teammates were amazed at him and proud of him for making that change. It showed commitment on his part to try to improve on what he did last year and help us improve overall.”

Through nine games this year, Haysbert is averaging almost 10 points and five rebounds a game, which is two points more than and twice as many rebounds as he was averaging through the first nine games last season. He is playing more (133 to 203 minutes) and shooting better (.551 to .557 shooting percentage) and is one of the big reasons the Penguins are 6-3 this season, their best start since the 2004–05 season when they were champions of the NAIA's California Pacific Conference.

Following Dominican's 36-point victory over Simon Fraser University on Dec. 17, Haysbert was 12th in the Pacific West Conference in field goal shooting percentage and seventh in offensive rebounds per game.

Haysbert is just as active in the biology program. For example, every Tuesday Haysbert volunteers at Marin General Hospital in the Med unit to help nurses. He files paperwork, keeps patient charts, and answers call buttons. If he's not busy studying game film, Haysbert may be working on his research paper on the topic of deriving neurons from mouse embryonic stem cells.

This is all part of the Changing Times of Connor Haysbert. He has found his groove as a pre-med student in the classroom and is a valuable contributor on the basketball court.

The morale of Haysbert's story is there is something to be said for losing weight. Yet, in the end, the biggest thing Haysbert gained can't be measured by grade point average or basketball statistics.

He has earned everyone's respect.