Arielle Sherman, 15, 5'2" (left) and Marvadene "Bubbles" Anderson, 16, 6'11"

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/nj_hoops_gal_huge_star_m1kiRXXzoE4laLi2PRqB5L#ixzz0aN7uQNXL

Call her Air Anderson.

This up-and-coming New Jersey high school basketball player is only 16, but Marvadene Anderson is already a giant on the court. At just under 6-foot-11 -- and still growing -- she's the world's tallest teenage girl.

The Jamaican-born hoopster, who could tower over legendary ballplayers like Michael Jordan (6-6) and LeBron James (6-8), was the highest-scoring "netball" player in her country -- a sport similar to basketball.

That on-court prowess earned her a scholarship to Rutgers Prep in Somerset, and for the last two months she's been hitting the hardwood to learn the rules of basketball.

The Argonauts center was a standout with her teammates during a practice game Wednesday, where she played alongside pint-sized point guard Arielle Sherman, 15, who at 5-foot-2 barely reaches Anderson's elbow.

Anderson uses her size to intimidate her opponents, block shots and make easy layups.

"Everyone has come up to me and asked if I play college basketball. I told them I'm only a sophomore in high school. They gasped when I told them," Anderson said.

The gal giant, whose family remained in Jamaica, was taken in by Enid Angus, who discovered her talents.

"She's my heart. I committed to treating her like my own," she told the Asbury Park Press.

Anderson said she got her nickname "Bubbles" because of her good humor.

"People are friendly with me because of my height and my personality. If I was tall and mean, I think I'd have a problem," she said.

The biggest problem "Bubbles" seems to have is adjusting to the cold weather and finding clothes and shoes to fit her 210-pound frame and size-12 feet.

As a schoolgirl back home, Marvadene confessed, she was teased a lot.

"They call me 'baby giant,' and my older sister Kimberly is 6-foot-4. They call us the Twin Towers," she said.

"The rudest thing anybody ever said about my height is that I'm not going to be able to find a husband."

Rutgers coach Mary Coyle-Klinger and her sister, former WNBA coach Pat Coyle, have been working with their new star. Anderson picked up six points in her first game on Dec. 10 and Coyle-Klinger was not disappointed.

"Of course she is going to be a star," she said. "She's a natural. She's only been playing two months and it's amazing how well she's adapted."

Read more:
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/nj_hoops_gal_huge_star_m1kiRXXzoE4laLi2PRqB5L#ixzz0aN7DxsIw


-- Edited by silence989 on Monday 21st of December 2009 07:33:13 PM