Italian Basketball Team Bulking Up 7'6", 184-Pound Player with Pasta-Laden Diet

Fifteen-year-old Robert Bobroczkyi, already 7'6", towers over just about everyone he faces on the basketball court and has the potential to be an impact center. The only problem is he weighs just 184 pounds.

That thin frame can cause issues on and off the court. 

That's why he's on a pasta-rich diet to bulk up. 

According to Andrew Dampf of the Associated Press, specialists have created a meal plan that has the teenager eating two pounds of pasta per day. Breakfast, lunch and dinner: pasta (along with some other things).

This meal plan is designed to help fill out Bobroczkyi's frame, keep him from tiring out easily and aid him off the court. His Italian club, Stellazzurra Basketball Academy, is on board with the plan.

"We're not interested in basketball right now. The top priority is his health," Stellazzurra Basketball Academy general manager Giacomo Rossi told the Associated Press. "For someone with his physical stature, the usual practice sessions are just not enough. He needs individual attention."

Being 7'6" certainly comes in handy on the basketball court. However, without some bulk, it's tough to be an effective player in the post against better competition.

Per Dampf, Bobroczkyi currently runs "awkwardly" because his hips are slanted. However, the hope is that as he develops, he will be able to run normally.

For Bobroczkyi, pasta is apparently going to be a key to developing—in basketball and life. 

[Associated Press, h/t SB Nation]