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Rock: Ex-BYU star 'Jumbo' Jim Eakins was better than you think

Related Topics: Jim Eakins, Miami Floridians

Toby Massey, AP

Six-foot-eleven inch Jim Eakins (42) of the Oakland Oaks passes the ball during game action against the Miami Floridians in Miami, Fla., Nov. 28, 1968. (AP Photo/Toby Massey)

Former BYU and Utah Stars big man “Jumbo” Jim Eakins is still a story, nearly 40 years after he played his last game.

A longtime coach in Utah, Eakins recently returned from a second LDS Church mission, this one in the Philippines, to find an ESPN story that ranks the top players from every NBA draft position. Eakins ended up being ranked the fifth-best No.