Head, Shoulders Above All

A stranger approaches Jaana Kotova at a restaurant, looks straight up and asks the obvious.

“You’re tall! Are you a basketball player?”

The 6-foot-11 Kotova gives her standard answer.

“No, I’m a soccer player. I’m 16, and I’m 5-foot-11.”

Believed to be the tallest player currently in women’s college basketball, Kotova attracts attention to West Liberty State, a Division II school. But she’s no novelty -- she can play the sport, and do it well.

Last year, Kotova led all college divisions -- both men and women -- with 5.3 blocked shots per game, including 13 in one contest. She also led her team in scoring, rebounding and shooting percentage.

“The only thing that surprises us is how so many teams want to challenge her,” said her coach, Lynn Ullom. “We would do the same thing if we were playing somebody similar. You would want to get her in foul trouble.

“But you would also think that after she blocked 10 shots, you would want to attack differently,” Ullom said.

Yet mobility is missing from Kotova’s game. Playing so close to the rim, she’s never dunked a basketball -- not in a game or in practice.

Kotova wasn’t blessed with springs in her spindly legs. Playing flat-footed, her typical shot is a turnaround 3-to-6 footer, although her range is from 15 feet.

“I just don’t know how to jump,” Kotova said. “I’ve been trying. I’ve asked people to teach me. I can jump and grab the rim really easily, but with a ball, it involves coordination.

Born in Tallinn, Estonia, Kotova was afraid to leave her home while growing up. As a 22-year-old in 1996, despite not knowing English, she was recruited to Seminole Community College near Orlando, Fla.

Two years later, a chance meeting at a NASCAR race brought her to West Virginia.

A West Liberty alumnus who is a Seminole fan ran into West Liberty’s president at a race in Florida. Their conversation eventually turned to women’s basketball and Kotova.

“Naturally, when we first heard that, we said, ‘yeah right,”’ Ullom said. “Not that she’s 6-11, we just thought we didn’t have a prayer of getting her.”

Actually, Kotova was barred by NCAA rules from competing for a Division I school because she had played for Estonia’s national team after her 21st birthday.

After Kotova’s arrival, West Liberty bought a custom-sized bed so her feet wouldn’t dangle over the edge.

She also wanted to fit in with her teammates. West Liberty built its offense around the 3-point basket, so at one of her first practices, Kotova pulled up to take a jumper.

“She wanted to prove, ‘I’m not just a big kid who stands by the basket,”’ Ullom said.

While skeptics questioned whether Kotova was right for West Liberty, Kotova was named the West Virginia Conference player of the year as a junior after redshirting the 1999-2000 season.

She rarely disappointed curious out-of-state fans who sometimes drove several hours to her play.

“It would be like if you went to a men’s game and saw someone 7-6, 7-7,” said Will Prewitt, associate commissioner of the West Virginia Conference. “It’s just kind of astounding.”