NYT profiles the tallest man in college basketball, UNCA's Kenny George

New York Times photo/Shawn Poynter

There was a lot of attention tonight on UNCA playing the North Carolina Tar Heels, the top men's college basketball team in the country, and deservedly so. The UNCA Bulldogs are on a roll and they're the best team we've seen locally in a long time. (Tar Heels won 93-81.)

A huge factor in UNCA's success is Kenny George, the tallest man to ever play college basketball at 7-feet, 7-inches tall. And big media are starting to notice. George has feet bigger than Shaq, as this New York Times profile notes.
Check it. And go support the Bulldogs and watch the man play. He's amazing to watch.

George’s body kept growing. By his senior year, his feet had grown beyond size 23, the largest athletic shoe made. In search of a size 25, VanderMeulen appealed to college and N.B.A. teams. Weeks later, Shaquille O’Neal sent several pairs of his size 22’s to Chicago. VanderMeulen shipped them to a New York City shoemaker who cut off the soles and toes and reshaped them into 25’s. Asheville has a contract with Nike, which makes 12 pairs of size-26 shoes for George. They are the only shoes he wears. “I suspect his shoe will go into the Hall of Fame because of its size,” said Asheville’s coach, Eddie Biedenbach. George’s wingspan, fingertip to fingertip, is 101 ½ inches, and with shoes on he stands 7-9.