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LSU snags 7-footer from school marching band

Attention college hoops coaches: Looking for a center? Check the marching band.

LSU coach Trent Johnson found some much-needed frontcourt help in the form of 7-foot-2, 286-pound redshirt sophomore Andrew Del Piero, who’ll join the Tigers as a walk-on this season. Sure, he hasn’t played organized ball since he was a freshman in high school, but who cares? The guy’s 7-2!

“Andrew is a young man that hasn’t played a lot, but we knew of him last year,” Johnson told the Daily Reveille, in a fun feature story on Del Piero. “Anytime you see a guy in the band walking along with that size, you’re like ‘Oh my goodness.’”

Del Piero’s already a minor celebrity from his time with the Tiger Band. Anyone that tall playing a tuba (sousaphone for the band fans out there) stands out as this video shows.

Del Piero, whose dad, Paul, played for Dartmouth, spent part of the summer working with ex-Texas assistant Eddie Oran in an effort to prepare for tryouts. He probably won’t make a huge impact this season other than providing a big body for the LSU big men to practice against. Still, Del Piero figures this would be his last chance to see if his height could pay off.

“Everyone always told me I should play,” Del Piero told the paper. “I just figured I had the size, and I’d never know unless I tried. So I just went for it.”

(H/T: Jeff Eisenberg)

Mike Miller’s also on Twitter @BeyndArcMMiller, usually talkin’ hoops. Click here for more.