Jamaica’s tallest girl gets US basketball scholarship

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- , 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.

Returning Gatlin sounds warning to Bolt

RALEIGH, USA– Former Olympic and world champion Justin Gatlin warned kingpins Usain Bolt and Tyson Gay to brace for a possible defeat when the American sprinter returns from a four-year doping suspension this year. “I could beat them before. I don’t see why I can’t run with them now.”

2010 cycle season begins in Nevis

CHARLESTOWN, Nevis — Members of the Nevis Cycle and Triathlon Club (NCTC) took to the roads of Nevis on Saturday, January 2 for a 3 lap -38 km road bike race. The 2010 race season started with National Champion Reggie Douglas as the man to reckon with, but James Weekes has been showing great performance.

The 2010 Regional First Class Cricket launched

The 2010 Regional First Class Cricket Competition was launched on Wednesday afternoon at the Alhambra Inn in Kingston, Jamaica. New features for this season include matches to be played under floodlights with pink balls, and the competition will also return to the local airwaves with radio broadcast of some matches. These measures are designed to improve spectator interest in the sport.