Basketball Is `Just My Work' To 6-10 Heidi Gillingham

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Instead of blocking shots on a basketball court for Vanderbilt's Commodores, 6-foot-10 Heidi Gillingham would rather be spiking on a volleyball court.

The tallest U.S. women's basketball player doesn't look upon the sport that's paying her way through college as an adventure or even fun.

"It's like comparing work to play, college to high school," Gillingham, a junior center, said. "Basketball for me is just . . . my work."

A former Naismith Player of the Year in Texas, she is starting the 1992-1993 season officially listed as two inches taller than last season. The change isn't because of a sudden growth spurt, just a decision by Commodore Coach Jim Foster to measure his center in her basketball shoes this year.

No records exist to confirm Gillingham's status, but Mel Greenberg of the Philadelphia Inquirer, a top women's basketball analyst, says no women's player has been listed in the United States at taller than 6-9.

Luwana Semenova of the former Soviet Union was the tallest women's player ever at 7-6.

"When people see me, they always ask me if I play basketball," Gillingham said, "and when I say yes, they say `Oh good,' as if I would be wasting my existence if I didn't play. I don't think that would be true at all."

Gillingham said she finally became comfortable with her height several years ago. But there's still the pressure of other people's expectations.

"I haven't felt that I've been the player that people came to see at my height, and that's made me feel worse about being this height," Gillingham said.

"In my freshman year, there was a time when I just wanted - who was the guy that invented basketball . . . (James) Naismith - to wring Naismith's neck for even making a sport where people would expect me to excel. It puts so much pressure."

Her height has helped Gillingham make an impression on women's basketball. She has rewritten the records for blocked shots both at Vanderbilt and in the Southeastern Conference.

Gillingham set the SEC freshman record with 87 blocked shots and added 131 as a sophomore when she ranked third in the country. She also managed a triple-double last season with 17 points, 15 rebounds and 10 blocked shots against Middle Tennessee State.

Growing up in the little town of Floresville, Texas, made being taller than some of her teachers easier to live with, she said. She first played basketball with a family that includes her 5-8 mother and 6-6 father. Younger sister Gwen stands at 6-7 and now plays for North Carolina.

Basketball has never been a passion, and Gillingham said she joined the team in the seventh grade to avoid the school's agriculture program.

The stares and furtive looks have taken longer for her to get used to, she said.

"It's been so long since I've been anywhere near normal height that it's difficult for me to compare what's typical. I get the stares and I always see people tapping their friends on the shoulder and staring. That's just a part of what I deal with on a daily basis," she said.

"I don't even consider it as a negative anymore. I'm just unique."

Perhaps. But her coach would like referees to pay attention when opposing teams get rough with his shot-blocking center. Foster has said that referees let Gillingham take more punishment because of her height.

Opponents should be wary this season. Foster has ordered her to start shooting from the outside to give her more room to operate under the basket.

"I have to be realistic, and I have to realize that things won't change. I have to elevate my game and use my strengths, which are getting open and about being where I can shoot.

"Basically, Coach Foster has demanded that I do it, freed me up and given me the encouragement to shoot this year. I can shoot, but haven't been shooting," she said.

Gillingham said she would prefer to be measured in her bare feet since that's how she was born. But since basketball players usually are staked out in their shoes, she has no problem.

"Whatever Coach Foster wants to do is fine," she said.