Brandon Ingram’s key toward bulking up: “Just eat everything I can”

Duke's Brandon Ingram drives to the basket against Yale's Sam Downey on Nov. 25, 2015. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

Duke’s Brandon Ingram drives to the basket against Yale’s Sam Downey on Nov. 25, 2015. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

Nearly everyone else around Southern California latches onto a diet that could make them look more presentable at the beach. But Duke forward Brandon Ingram dined with the Lakers coaching staff on Wednesday night doing something most only wished they could do.

“Just eat everything I can,” Ingram said. “I think at my weight, I can eat anything. I don’t have a certain diet.

Ingram worked out with the Lakers in a private session on Thursday and is considered the presumptive favorite to land in the team’s No. 2 slot for reasons involving his versatility, defense and selfless play. Ingram’s biggest question mark, however, involves his skinny frame and whether it can withstand the physical rigors of the NBA.

Yet, Ingram said he has bulked from 169 pounds to 195 pounds within the last year by eating anything he wants off his plate. The Lakers handed out a biographical sheet of Ingram that listed him at 6’9” and 190 pounds.

“I know it’s going to be a long process, of course,” Ingram said. “But at the end of the day, it’s basketball. That’s what I’ve been doing my whole life, trying to score the ball and trying to defend. I know everybody in the NBA develops their body each summer. I try to do the same thing.”

So even if Ingram’s closed workout did not involve any other college prospects, he completed a series of one-on-one and two-on-two drills with the Lakers coaching staff hoping to prove he could finish well at the rim. Ingram’s two-hour workout also entailed various shooting drills.

“I’m trying to get stronger,” said Ingram, who also has devoted lots of his time in the weight room. “I know it’s coming naturally. But I’m trying to build everything I can before I get to the next level.”

That next level could be with the Lakers. Yet, Ingram said he “definitely” plans to work out with the Philadelphia 76ers at some point. The Sixers have the No. 1 pick, though they are expected to select LSU forward Ben Simmons.

“It doesn’t matter at all,” Ingram said. “I want to go to the organization that wants me. I want to develop in this league as much as I can.”

That first starts with adding more weight.

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Follow L.A. Daily News Lakers beat writer Mark Medina on Twitter and on Facebook. E-mail him at mark.medina@langnews.com