Back in October – when he was merely the most-talked-about Black Bear who’d yet to play a minute of Division I college basketball – the guy nicknamed “The Big Rush” admitted that in one way, he was a bit special.

“I think I got a little lucky in the fact that I can chew gum and walk at the same time, as opposed to other big guys who seem to have trouble with that combination,” Justin Rowe said.

Now, three months later, it’s becoming apparent that Rowe – all 7- feet, 1/2-inch of him – may have been selling himself a bit … short.

Here’s the tale of the tape, according to Rowe himself: “If I stand flat-footed, I reach 9 feet, 3 inches,” he says. “If I jump, I can reach a little over 11 feet. I have a 31-inch vertical [jump].”

And Rowe, the first 7-footer in Maine history, is doing something that nobody has ever done at good ol’ State U.

He has single-handedly turned the Bears into a swat team.

As of Jan. 7, he ranked third in the nation in blocked shots, with a gaudy 4.15-per-game average.

After only 13 games, the UMaine junior ranks sixth on the school blocked shot list. That’s sixth in career blocks. His 54 swats are just 26 shy of the single-season mark.

Rowe is doing exactly what he was expected to do when he headed to Orono after two years at Clearwater Christian College.

He’s dominating. Well…. Sometimes.

“He’s a wonderful player for us, but in all honesty, he’s barely scratched the surface,” said coach John Giannini, who points out that inconsistent play, attention to detail … and free throw shooting (more on that later) are still concerns.

But there are times when his center is downright nasty. Like last Sunday, when he blocked a school-record nine shots against Stony Brook.

“Some days, your arms feel two feet longer than they actually are,” Rowe says. “That was one of those days.”

In some ways, Rowe is a walking contradiction. He’s the devoutly religious son of a Baptist pastor, yet he sports a tattoo on his back (you can even read it, if you jump on a stepladder … look close … and can read Greek).

“It [says] ‘Born of the spirit,'” Rowe says. “I’m a Christian, so it brings out a nice topic. … My father wasn’t too happy about it, but he dealt with it.”

He also owns a pair of ferrets, much to the delight of Giannini’s daughter Brianna, the designated surrogate-ferret-mother when the Bears are on the road.

At times, Giannini says, explaining the sometimes eccentric Rowe, he’ll be talking to his center and one of the lively pets will pop his head out of a jacket pocket.

Giannini is trying to get Rowe to realize how good he can be. And how far he has to go.

“Justin will get his degree,” Giannini says. “But I don’t think there’s any question that his job is going to be as a basketball player.”

Rowe seems to be learning. Painfully.

On Sunday, he shot 14 free throws against Stony Brook. He missed nine. And the Bears lost by three.

The next night, Rowe went to the gym, plugged in his boom box and got to work. An hour and a half – and two CDs later – he headed back home.

“It’s an obvious problem. It’s something I’ve got to work on. I don’t want to end up being a Shaq-factor,” he says, referring to the NBA strategy of beating on the foul-shooting Shaquille O’Neal late in games.

After just 13 Division I games, Rowe has learned that it’s a short hop from hero to goat, after all.

“Right now, it feels good,” the ferret-owning, tattoo-wearing, shot-blocking 7-footer says. “I’ve been working on it a lot. And I’m gonna keep working at it.”

John Holyoke is a NEWS sportswriter. His e-mail address is jholyoke@bangordailynews.net