America's Tallest Man Holds Court With Wolves
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- You expect to see tall people at a Timberwolves game. But you don't necessarily expect to see someone so tall they make even the NBA players look short.
At 7 feet, 8 inches, Igor Vovkivinskiy is the tallest man in America.
The Timberwolves saw Holly Wagner's story on his search for new shoes and invited him to be the guest of honor at their game against Golden State Sunday night.
Vovkivinskiy says he's a huge fan of Kevin Love.
Last month, Wagner reported that Vovkivinskiy has had 15 foot surgeries in the last three years. The residual pain from those surgeries makes it difficult for him to stay on his feet at times, so he moves around the house in a motorized wheelchair.
Vovkivinskiy, who came to the U.S. from the Ukraine when he was a child, told Wagner he needs size 26 shoes. When he contacted Reebok, they told him it would cost $15,000 to have shoes specially made for him, money not in the budget for this college student.
With the encouragement of his friends, he started a web page to collecting donations. At last check, he had received nearly $40,500 in donations.
He posted on his Facebook page that he's in talks with Reebok and is getting his shoes in the next few weeks.
