#PlayerCompDailyUpdate
Many know retired NBA star Bryant Reeves for having one of the best nicknames in the history of sports — Big Country. However, to some he is better known for being to the NBA what Andrew Testani (#67 super duper extra senior left guard for the Ithaca College Bombers) was to the Liberty League.
First, let’s look at the similarities. Reeves and Testani are both listed at 290lbs, hand size inconclusive. Both played in exactly 395 games during their respective careers, combining for a total of zero (0) touchdowns scored. Reeves recorded a career-high 7 blocks during a game against the Sacramento Kings in 1996. Testani likely recorded 7 successful downblocks during his entire playing career, several of which against a Sacramento “King” in his own right.
Putting the advanced analytics to the side, the eye test confirms more similarities when it comes to their styles of play. Both were commanding interior presences, who would make you think twice before making a move to get inside. However, this technique of hard-nosed, aggessive play was not without its drawbacks for either athlete. In ’97 and ’98, Reeves was 19th and 10th in the league in personal fouls committed. Meanwhile, Testani frequently led the driveway pick up league in fouls committed, many of which felt extremely personal.
While the similarities on the field/court/snack shack are strikingly similar, the two freak-of-nature athletes are not without their differences. One was nicknamed “Big Country,” allegedly given to him by a college teammate after Reeves was “amazed by the size of the United States following his first cross-country airplane flight.” The other is simply Big and thinks he is Country, as well as being nicknamed “Testi” by his college teammates, for reasons unclear.
Furthermore, one played the entirety of his professional career for the Vancouver Grizzlies. The other is seemingly spending the entirely of his post-playing career posting pictures of Grizzlies and other bear-like creatures on his Instagram story.
Speaking of retirement lifestyle choices— Reeves has been difficult to track down, nearly invisible to the general public since his retirement from basketball in 2001. Testani was probably born around the same time, I think. Perhaps this explains the disappearance of Reeves around the same time as the rise of Testani. With Testani’s recent retirement from competitive football, is a new heir to the Big Country throne approaching? Time will tell.
Reeves now enjoys his peaceful, private life residing on a 15,000 square foot ranch in rural Oklahoma. Perhaps the retired rancher life is in the cards now for Testani as well.
