Chicago Tribune from Chicago, Illinois • 214

Chicago Bulls 8 Section 9 Chicago Tribune, Friday, November 2, 1990 Big foot Here's how the Bulls' Will Perdue's basketball shoe sizes up to some other sports equipment, in height. Will Perdue's shoe 21.5 inches Spud Webb's shoe 10.5 inches Basketball 9 inches Football 11.3 inches Bowling pin 15 inches Baseball 4.5 inches Sources: Vanderbilt, Pony shoe company, The Rule Book. A tall tale: Will and Stacey's travels through life By Gary Reinmuth take you now to the land Gland Your of the guides: Unchained. Pituitary Will Perdue and Stacey King. These two didn't choose this place- they haven't always but over time, they've learned to make the best of it.

Up above the world so high, THE they can see the advantages. Not to mention four states and Canada. Being tall, they know, means never having to say you're sorryto short people, if you don't want to. A tall person, they can tell you, never has to worry about a tall person my luck. Why does this always happen to suddenly plopping down in front of LUDUS.

OMNIBUS LUDIQUE AL SPORTS DAILY Where sports IS front-page news. THE NATIONAL Changing the way America reads sports. them just as the movie's about to start. (Then again, short people get their revenge: airplane restrooms.) And, sometimes, if your gross motor development all comes together right, tall means getting to play in the NBA. Perdue, the big galoot, is 7 feet tall, 240 pounds; King 6-11, 230.

And you're not. Go ahead, say it: "Hey, Stretch, How's the weather up there?" For what they're making- King a million, Perdue, nearly half that--they can take it. This is a (short) story about what it's like being 10 feet tall. Well, 7 anyway. The bottom line: It isn't all a King-sized bed of roses.

Chapter 1 Planes, trains and automobiles Leg room? Hah! "My fantasy is to one day get a Ferrari or one of those fast, fast type cars," King says. "But it's hard for a guy over 6-5 to get in them. I tried to get into a ZR-1 Corvette once. I got in, but it was like if you were to crash or something they'd have to cut you out with a can opener. You'd be in the glove compartment knocking to get out." Then there are the sometimes not-so-friendly skies.

The good news is that Bulls will be flying by charter this season. No more knobby knees playing chin music. This season each player will plunk down in his own captain's chair, meaning plenty of room to s-t-r-r-e-e-tch out. No more moms and babies grabbing the precious bulkhead seats on commercial flights. "I always try to get the bulkhead whether we're in first-class or coach," says Perdue.

"The problem is, if you can't get the seat you want, you sometimes have to do a little negotiating. It's not something worth getting into a big argument about, though." Chapter II If the shoe fits, Will and Stacey probably had it special-ordered The average shoe size in the NBA is Former Detroit Pistons star Bob Lanier wore a size Perdue checks in at 6A. Growing up in Merritt Island, Perdue spent a lot of time walking around with his 10 big toes curled up inside his shoes, which invariably were too short and too narrow for his ever expanding feet. Not till he enrolled at Vanderbilt, where he went on to become the Bulls' No. 1 draft choice in 1988, was he given much relief.

Vandy had plaster casts made of his feet and sent them to Converse, which ever since has custommade Perdue's shoes. So that's a hassle. Then there are the jokes. This one comes courtesy of former Vanderbilt trainer Tim Bream: "Kentucky came to play us once and they had to use our locker room for their practice session the night before the game. Rex Chapman pulls one of Will's shoes out of his locker and says: 'Look fellas, I can play tennis with this Racquetball maybe.

Will's feet are inches long- a mere two inches longer than a racquetball racket. By comparison, King's feet (size 15 shoes) are petite. "In Oklahoma they didn't have big and tall shops," he says. "It was a nightmare. My mom had to special-order my shoes from Atlanta.

And compared to what you'd pay for say boat shoes, I'd probably end up having to. pay $50-60 more cause I'd have to go through shipping, mailing, plus there's a lot more cow." Chapter III Girls, girls, girls No problem. King: "I have a girlfriend. She's 5-4. I generally like girls smaller than me.

It gives you that machotype image. Small girls, it seems like you just have a little more authority over a smaller woman. A bigger woman it's like, shoot, I'm just as big as you are. So you say, 'Honey, I don't want you to shop so and the smaller women will say, 'OK, honey, whatever you A bigger woman says, 'If you don't give me your wallet right now, you and me are gonna have a Chapter IV They really can walk and chew gum at the same time Now. King: "Between the 9th and 10th grade, that summer, I grew from 6-0 to 6-7.

It was really weird. I felt like I was another person. And as soon as you get to be that height everybody expects you to be able to do a lot of things. And you're uncoordinated. You're not used to being that height.

So it was awkward. You feel like the Incredible Hulk or Chapter Wise guys Everybody's a comedian. King: "People see me and they say, 'Man I didn't know you were that tall. You don't look that tall on Of course not. If you're looking at me on a 24-inch television set, I'm about the size of a Ninja Turtle.

"And the first question they always ask is, 'How's the weather up In high school people always asked me that. My history teacher said the next time somebody asks you that just spit on 'em and say, 'It's never did do that, but it was funny he'd say Chapter VI Sometimes, being tall is no fun at all Perdue: "I went to Great America last summer and they asked me to please not ride on some of the rides. I don't know what they expected. I guess they thought I'd hit my head or King: "I went on a cruise ship. Ever been on a cruise ship? On a cruise ship everything is low.

See Feet, pg, 12-.