You all know Kenny George. The tallest person ever to play Division-1 basketball, the UNC Asheville center is 7-foot-9, 370 pounds, and is only nominally good at the sport despite his incredible size. Part of that size means being naturally disposed, whether willingly or not, to play basketball for a living. The other part, the ugly part (if there is anything "pretty" about being so freakishly large) is that injuries are much more likely and, once suffered, much more difficult.

So it goes for George. The big fella had his second foot surgery this week and looks like he won't play much this year, if at all.

George has always been an object of fascination to me. Without being too overt, I'll admit that I'm interested in the way George's gift is also his curse, the way his size -- what so many former basketball players, including myself, prayed for as camp-attending youths -- is something that presents more struggle for George than it alleviates. In basketball, everyone wants to be big. No one wants to be that big. It feels like a cruel cosmic joke.

But I doubt George would feel that way. He seems interested in much more than basketball. According to this New York Times story, which ran last year when George became briefly enjoyed the ESPN-fueled national spotlight, George has written screenplays and built storyboards, and basketball seems like less of a concern to him than does living a normal, full life. In a level of athletics where people routinely go insane to succeed, that's a welcome bit of sanity. Anyway, that's what I find fascinating.

Also? Dude wears size 26 shoes. 26! Look down at your shoe, and then double it in size. Maybe even triple it. That's pretty wild, too.

Related: Peculiarity