ShareThisUntil the X Games acquire the riches and worldwide brand recognition of Guinness, we'll probably never know whether Luke Nevill owns a world record.
How about World's Tallest Skateboarder?
The 7-foot-2-inch, 265-pounder zips around the Utah campus on a skateboard, usually in the off-season, when a tumble from almost a story high wouldn't figure to railroad his basketball team's chances.
The center doesn't ride a long board, which would accommodate his size 17 shoes and is also much easier to master.
He rides a regular-sized skateboard, a pastime he started as a kid in Australia.
Asked if he gets funny looks from the kids on Utah's campus, he laughed.
"They give me funny looks even when I'm not on a skateboard," he said.
In years past, it might be mostly due to his height. This season, he is the Big Man on Campus in every sense of the word, having been named the Mountain West Conference's Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year.
The 23-year-old also figures to be the most substantive argument against the Arizona Wildcats proceeding through the first round of the NCAA tournament Friday.
Nevill averages 16.9 points and 9.1 rebounds per game. He has blocked 90 shots - two more than Arizona's starting five, combined.
Nevill is a bit plodding, due to his massive size - fans of rival BYU compare the fair-skinned Aussie to a giant version of Beaker from "The Muppet Show."
He is eight inches taller than his fraternal twin brother, who works for the Australian government.
Still, Nevill is athletic - as his skateboarding and a stint running the 400 meters in high school proves.
"When I get taken out of the perimeter, which most players do against me because of my size, I have to be able to move my feet quickly and stay in front of them," he said. "I can't get away with putting my hand in front of my player. I have to put my hand straight up and move my feet."
He will undoubtedly have to do that if the Utes have any success against Arizona's own scoring machine, Jordan Hill.
Given the Wildcats' propensity to run, Nevill will be asked to move as far, and as often, as in any game this season.
"He's got really good balance," said Utes forward Shaun Green, a fellow senior. "It's not often you see a 7-foot-2 guy on a skateboard."
Arizona interim coach Russ Pennell said the 24-9 Utes don't run every play through him.
"When you're 7-2, 270 pounds," he said. "That's a great place to start."
Pennell called 6-foot-11 Santa Clara center John Bryant - who hung 24 on Arizona in November - an apt comparison. Nevill's length is similar to former Stanford players Brook and Robin Lopez but might be a step slower than Washington State center Aron Baynes, Pennell said.
Utah coach Jim Boylen said Nevill's defensive acumen isn't simply a direct result of his height.
"It's not just on blocking shots," he said. "He can move his feet. He has very quick hands."
When he first came to campus, it appeared he wasn't good enough - at least when compared to Andrew Bogut, the Utes' last great Australian player. In 2005, the 7-0 Bogut was named The Associated Press Player of the Year, and he became the first foreign-born player to win the Naismith and Wooden awards.
Nevill was a junior all-star at the Australian Institute of Sport before playing as an exchange student for Kell High School in Marietta, Ga., his senior year. Bogut played in a better league in Australia, Nevill said.
Nevill, who redshirted his freshman year while Bogut was a standout, knew comparisons would come.
"It was an unfair comparison, but I kinda expected it," he said. "It was difficult. I wasn't mentally, I wasn't physically, up to the challenge at that time."
He still might not be Bogut, but he's much closer.
"I think people are always going to compare you, especially when you're from the same part of the world," Green said. "Everyone expected Luke to do that right away.
"I've seen him grow mentally. In the games, he's going out there with the mentality that he's going to try to dominate the game. He's the leader of our team - and the leader of the conference."
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
Must credit Arizona Daily Star
