7-6 Player Seeks School (And School Seek Him)

ABILENE, Texas - Mike Lanier is the tallest player in college basketball and the tallest twin in the world. He's used to being the center of attention.

But never like this.

Lanier is turning heads at more than 80 universities, where recruiters promise to stitch a custom uniform to fit his 7-foot-6 frame.

He is leaving Hardin-Simmons University at the end of the season because the small Baptist school in West Texas decided to drop its basketball program from NCAA Division I status next year.

The school that lands Lanier also will have to remodel his dorm room, raise the shower head and build him a special bed. And when the team travels by air, they'll have to make sure Lanier sits alone in a first class row or at least gets the seat by the emergency exit. It has more leg room.

Lanier, who weighs 285 pounds, is just a tad taller than twin brother Jim, who plays for the University of Denver. They're identical in weight and appearance, though Mike is a better basketball player. The Guinness Book of World Records lists them as the world's tallest twins.

Hardin-Simmons Coach Dennis Harp said he gets an average of five calls a day regarding his 20-year-old center, who stands 7-7 when he dons his sneakers and can dunk the ball without jumping.

``Here's one from Drake,'' Harp said, flipping through pink call-back messages on his desk. ``UCLA, another from Kansas State. N.C. State. Kentucky.

``And I'll probably have two or three more at my house when I get home tonight. And every last one of them wants to know about Mike.''

Nobody knows him better than Harp, the only Division I coach who offered Lanier a scholarship when he graduated from high school in Troy, Mich., two years, 20 pounds and 2 inches ago.

At the time, Lanier was another undiscovered, uncoordinated big center.

Hardin-Simmons Athletic Director Merlin Morrow, who has supervised strenuous agility drills for Lanier, said Lanier's rampant growth rate had outstripped his body's ability to keep up in muscle development and coordination.

Already as tall as Manute Bol of the Golden State Warriors, the tallest man in the NBA, Lanier said he could grow a few more inches by his senior season.

But his growth has been stopped for a year now, and that has allowed him to improve his game dramatically.

``I have to keep adjusting my shot every time I grow,'' Lanier said. ``I hope this is it. I don't need to get any taller.''

Lanier is averaging 7.5 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.2 blocked shots, a modest output, but considerably better than last season, when he averaged 2.1 points, 1.7 rebounds and fewer than 10 minutes in 14 games. He blocked seven shots as a freshman.

But observers say that because of his height and stubborn work ethic, Lanier could develop into an effective professional player.