At 2.16m, Alex Pledger certainly has the first base covered, and the rest of his game is coming along nicely.
The 24-year-old joined the New Zealand Breakers as a development player in 2009-10 and made the playing roster last season.
He appeared to get better with each outing and his stocks rose with some good performances at the business end of the competition, particularly in the finals series against the Cairns Taipans.
He was the dominant centre in the New Zealand league and it never got boring watching the MVP effortlessly pluck rebounds or slam down alley-oops with his giant mitts.
For a big man he is quite athletic. He does not float through the air like team-mate Thomas Abercrombie or run the ball up court like Cedric Jackson. But for a guy whose legs seem impossibly long, he moves well and has the size, ambition and work ethic to flourish.
The one thing holding him back? Consistency.
"You saw what I was capable of with a few games towards the end of the season when Gary [Wilkinson] was sick and during the finals," Pledger said.
"But while I did have games like that during the regular season, I also had games where I was average and games where I was a bit of a no-show. Consistency is something I really wanted throughout the [NZ] NBL and I think it was pretty good in most of those games. And that is what I'd like to bring more often for the Breakers this year."
While he was able to dominate the New Zealand league, the Australian league is a different prospect. The athletes are stronger, faster, taller and more skillful. Pledger might have earned some respect last season, but the second season can often be tougher than the first.
"The biggest difference between this league and the New Zealand league is there is a lot more quality and there are a lot more players like me - seven-footers. They're not just here because they are tall; they are unbelievably good as well. It is quite a step up in competition.
"I'm working on being more of a target and having the ball in my hands a lot more. It is something I've been working on throughout the New Zealand NBL and in practice so far.
"I'm getting better, but I'm not at the level that I want to be when it comes to being able to turn both ways and finish with both hands or making the right passes. But I think I've got better since my last Breakers season."
Pledger has had a busy 12 months, but he is not complaining. It is par for the course, but it does take a toll.
"It is not just all the games but the travel - you know, the 10-hour-plus flights around the world and just being in places that are a little out of your comfort zone."
Life, in general, can be a challenge when you are seven-foot-one. Squeezing into cars or planes, ducking for doorways, finding trousers long enough - everyday things most of us take for granted.
His height, though, definitely comes in handy on the basketball court. But it is a ticket to the show, not a passport to success. That is up to him.
• The Breakers made a statement with a comfortable 77-57 win against the Cairns Taipans in the pre-season Sunshine State Challenge in Ipswich near Brisbane last night.
Gary Wilkinson top-scored for the Breakers with 22 points and Pledger dominated the boards with 11 rebounds.
The Breakers play a classification game today before returning to New Zealand to prepare for their opening ANBL match against the Gold Coast Blaze on October 7.
New Zealand Breakers 77 (Gary Wilkinson 22, BJ Anthony 11), Cairns Taipans 57 (Brad Hill 18, Andrew Warren 14). Quarter 20-14, halftime 40-25, third quarter 60-35.
