Walking Tall: 21st Century Featured Five of Nine DI Players Taller Than 7-4
Sky-is-the-limit expectations face the two tallest transfers eligible next season - 7-3 Matt Haarms (Purdue to Brigham Young) and 7-3 Connor Vanover (California to Arkansas). It will be a tall order, but these twin towers likely will determine whether or not BYU and Arkansas reach Top 25 ranking and participate in the NCAA tourney. 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 Haarms and Vanover:
| Tallest DI Players | Ht. | School(s) | Summary of NCAA Division I Career |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neil Fingleton | 7-7 1/2 | North Carolina/Holy Cross | Missed both of his field-goal attempts in one game with Carolina in 2001-02 before averaging 2.7 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 0.7 bpg and 45.2 FG% for Holy Cross 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 | 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 averaging 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 | 3 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 1 bpg and 58 FG% from 1978-79 through 1981-82 |
| Alan Bannister | 7-4 | Oklahoma State/Arkansas State | 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 | 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 | 1.8 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 0.9 bpg and 44.9 FG% in 1980-81 and 1981-82 |
| 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 | 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), Paul Sturgess (7-7/Florida Tech and Mountain State WV), Manute Bol (7-6/Bridgeport CT) and Priest Lauderdale (7-4/Central State OH) played for non-DI colleges. . . . Homesick Gunther Behnke (7-4/Kentucky) left UK before start of 1984-85 season to return to his native West Germany.