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Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Where have you gone Neil Fingleton?
Is it time for a new installment of the longest running saga in Hoop Time history? You betcha!

First a quick refresher for those with short memories, or who might be new to the world of Patriot League hoops and not quite up on all of its legends.

Neil Fingleton is a 7-7 Brit who once was on the roster of the Holy Cross Crusaders. Better known for his ability to fill a doorway than his ability to fill the post, Fingleton never lived up to his McDonalds All-American/North Carolina transfer hype. Back problems plagued him at HC and he left school early, reportedly due to a parent's health problems back home in the U.K.

Since then, Fingleton has bounced around basketball's underworld, with stints with two teams in the semi-pro ABA, a look-see with an NBDL team that didn't work out and an undistinguished stint with a British third-division team.

So where is Neil now? Apparently he is in New York and calling himself an actor. The New York Daily News reports Fingleton spent the day Monday posing for pictures with tourists in Times Square while on a mission for the Guinness Book of World Records folks to find the tallest man in the U.S.

Fingleton is currently listed as the tallest man in England, but apparently could soon lose that title to a 19-year-old by the name of Paul Sturgess.

Don't believe the claims about sturgess being offered a million dollar deal to play hoops in the states. He spent last season as a redshirt at Division II Florida Tech. Ask yourself: Could any D-II team in the country afford to sit a 7-7 guy if he could walk and chew gum at the same time? Or for that matter, what pro team would throw a million at a kid who has not played a lick of college ball based on a 10 points, 12 rebounds and 5 blocks per game average playing for a British community college.

As for Fingleton's claims to be an actor, well, he is not the first person of unusual height to make those claims. But a search of the authoritative Internet Movie Database Web site turned up no movie or TV credits in Fingleton's name.

By the way, the iconic WHGNF t-shirt is still available in the Hoop Time Store.

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Published at 11:26 PM by Hoop Time.
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