Walking Tall: 21st Century Boasts 5 DI Players Taller Than 7-4 Eaton and Edey
Sky-is-the-limit expectations are facing 7-4 Zach Edey after promising freshman season with Purdue. The "Big Maple" is same height as Mark Eaton, who passed away recently at 64 following a bicycle accident. Eaton led the NBA in blocked shots four times in a five-year span with Utah Jazz from 1983-84 through 1987-88 while averaging 31.5 minutes per game after auto mechanic/juco recruit averaged only 6.5 mpg for UCLA in 1980-81 and 1981-82.
It will be a tall order for Edey to improve as much as Eaton. Believe it or not, there has previously been a striking number of towering players with higher points of view. Who have been the tallest players in major-college history? Five of nine NCAA Division I players taller than 7-4 have impacted major-college hoops this century and could literally look down upon national Player of Year winners Lew Alcindor (7-2/UCLA), Anthony Davis (7-0/Kentucky), Patrick Ewing (7-0/Georgetown) and Shaquille O'Neal (7-1/Louisiana State) plus two-time All-Americans Artis Gilmore (7-2/Jacksonville) and Hakeem Olajuwon (7-0/Houston). The following list of skyscrapers are taller than 7-3:
| Tallest DI Players | Ht. | School(s) | Summary of NCAA Division I Career |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neil Fingleton | 7-7 1/2 | North Carolina/Holy Cross | backup to Kris Lang and Brian Bersticker missed both of his field-goal attempts in one game with Carolina in 2001-02 before backup to Patrick Whearty and Nate Lufkin averaged 2.7 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 0.7 bpg and 45.2 FG% for HC in 2002-03 and 2003-04 |
| Tacko Fall | 7-7 | UCF | 10.1 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 2.4 bpg and 74 FG% from 2015-16 through 2018-19 |
| Kenny George | 7-7 | UNC Asheville | 9.3 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 2.7 bpg and 71.6 FG% in 2006-07 and 2007-08 before having part of his right foot amputated because of staph infection |
| Shawn Bradley | 7-6 | Brigham Young | 14.8 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 5.2 bpg and 51.8 FG% in 1990-91 |
| John Hollinden | 7-6 | Oral Roberts | backup to Chuck Dahms and Elvin Rolle averaged 1.2 ppg and 1.1 rpg in 1976-77 and 1977-78 before transferring to Indiana State-Evansville |
| Mike Lanier | 7-6 | Hardin-Simmons/UCLA | averaged 5.1 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 0.8 bpg and 45.2 FG% for Hardin-Simmons in 1988-89 and 1989-90 before backup to Rodney Zimmerman and George Zidek averaged 1.3 ppg, 1.1 rpg, 0.1 bpg and 32.4 FG% with UCLA in 1991-92 and 1992-93. |
| Mamadou Ndiaye | 7-6 | UC Irvine | 10.2 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 2.5 bpg and 67.6 FG% from 2013-14 through 2015-16 |
| Sim Bhullar | 7-5 | New Mexico State | 10.2 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 2.9 bpg and 63.3 FG% in 2012-13 and 2013-14 |
| Chuck Nevitt | 7-5 | North Carolina State | backup to seven-footers Craig Watts and Glenn Sudhop averaged 3 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 1 bpg and 58 FG% from 1978-79 through 1981-82 |
| Alan Bannister | 7-4 | Oklahoma State/Arkansas State | backup to Sylvester Kincheon averaged 6.7 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 1.6 bpg and 45.9 FG% with OSU in 1985-86 and 1987-88 before averaging 2 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 0.8 bpg and 45.2 FG% with ASU in 1989-90 |
| Lonnie Boeckman | 7-4 | Oklahoma State | backup to Andy Hopson, Dave Kragel, Andrew Jones and Anthony Williams averaged 1.8 ppg, 1.4 rpg and 35.8 FG% from 1973-74 through 1976-77 |
| Tom Burleson | 7-4 | North Carolina State | 19 ppg, 12.7 rpg and 51.6 FG% from 1971-72 through 1973-74 |
| Mark Eaton | 7-4 | UCLA | backup to Stuart Gray averaged 1.8 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 0.9 bpg and 44.9 FG% in 1980-81 and 1981-82 |
| Zach Edey | 7-4 | Purdue | Canadian averaged 8.7 ppg, 4.4 rpg and 1.1 bpg as freshman in 2020-21 |
| Christ Koumadje | 7-4 | Florida State | 4.5 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.2 bpg and 62.2 FG% from 2015-16 through 2018-19 |
| Rolf Mayr | 7-4 | Duquesne | backup to Arnd Neuhaus averaged 1.2 ppg, 1.2 rpg and 42.9 FG% in 1987-88 |
| Ralph Sampson | 7-4 | Virginia | 16.9 ppg, 11.4 rpg, 3.5 bpg and 56.8 FG% from 1979-80 through 1982-83 |
| Rik Smits | 7-4 | Marist | 18.2 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 3.2 bpg and 60.9 FG% from 1984-85 through 1987-88 |
| Steve Turner | 7-4 | Vanderbilt | 8.1 ppg, 6.7 rpg and 50.2 FG% from 1969-70 through 1972-73 |
NOTES: George Bell (7-8/Morris Brown GA, UC Riverside and Biola CA), Robert Bobroczky (7-8/Rochester MI commitment), Paul Sturgess (7-7/Florida Tech and Mountain State WV), Manute Bol (7-6/Bridgeport CT) and Priest Lauderdale (7-4/Central State OH) were affiliated with non-DI colleges. . . . Homesick Gunther Behnke (7-4/Kentucky) left UK before start of 1984-85 season to return to his native West Germany.