There are no ducks in Duck Hill, Mississippi.

What you can find there though is a 7-foot tall basketball player ducking through doorways and under ceiling fans.

Meet Joniah White, a towering Louisiana Tech Bulldog for the last four years that lived in the town with only one caution light and less than 1,000 people.

"Super, super small town," Joniah said of his home from birth to the age of 15. "There is not really much to see. You go back, you see the gas station is still open and full of people. You see the old gym where the school used to be before it closed down because there were not enough people to go there."

Blink and you might miss the exit. Keep an eye out for Winona on Interstate 55 in Mississippi. Take exit 195 to Duck Hill, going east about five miles and there it is.

Best burgers in town are at Mr. Randy's says Joniah. Don't go looking for a building with that name on it though. That is just the guy's name. Ms. Lisa, Joniah's neighbor growing up, can cook a mean meal too.

Perhaps this delicious, home-style food is what helped him sprout into the tallest man in Duck Hill and only the second ever 7-footer in LA Tech history (the other being Charlie Bishop). Having a mom and dad that are both 6-3 in height helped in the genes department too.

"I can remember in elementary school being taller than some of my teachers. Then, I got taller than both of my parents over a summer going into seventh grade. Then I was 7-foot in 10th grade. I grew about three inches a year for a while."

Pretty amazing, especially for someone who was a preemie, born on Feb. 1 but due on March 16.

Being that high in stature came with its fair share of disadvantages for Joniah.

Disadvantage No. 1 ââ'¬" clothes. "I cut a lot of my pants into jean shorts."

Disadvantage No. 2 ââ'¬" headaches. "We had to take the ceiling fans and chandeliers out of my house growing up. I would always hit my head on them. I looked down a lot as a kid, I guess because I had to look down at people. I'd be walking through the house, looking down, and bang my head on the chandelier. All the lights would fall out of it. My head is probably harder than most peoples."

Disadvantage No. 3 ââ'¬" weather. "I get tan a lot easier than most people [being closer to the sun]."

On the contrary, being a towering human does have its advantages.

Advantage No. 1 ââ'¬" cabinets. "I get to reach the top shelf of stuff a lot easier than most people. I see people on TV get their step ladder to get things out of the cabinets. Just hire someone tall like me and I'll be glad to get your corn for you."

Advantage No. 2 (and quite possibly the biggest asset) ââ'¬" basketball. "I played rec league sports, but I was never any good at them. I was not good at basketball growing up either. I didn't get serious about basketball until 10th grade. I was still one of the worst ones on the team at that time."

At 16 years of age, Joniah reached his peak of being 7-feet tall. He was also only 170 pounds. Skin and bones.

His English teacher described him as a little baby deer fresh out of the womb, wondering how to use his arms and legs. "I was so uncoordinated. I could not walk and catch at the same time. It was bad."

And rightfully so.

Three years of hard work though and he went from the guy that teammates couldn't remember his name because he was that bad (born out of that was his nickname Slim) to being one of the best players in the entire state of Mississippi.

As a senior at Grenada High School, he led the Chargers to the Mississippi 6A title game. He posted one of his six triple-doubles that year in the semifinals to get to the championship.

He ended up earning first team all-state honors while averaging 14.6 points, 12.9 rebounds and 6.5 blocks per game in route to being rated as the second best player in the Magnolia State and as the 37th best center in the nation by ESPN.

Easy to see why Louisiana Tech very much wanted him. The feeling was mutual.

"When I came on my visit, there were so many people that were friendly and interactive. It felt like home, except bigger. It was a great program and the only place I took an official visit."

Dates that stand out for Joniah at LA Tech: Nov. 14, 2014 at Southern when he made his Bulldog debut, rejecting three shots. Nov. 24, 2015 at Ohio State when he made his first career start, pulling down seven boards in the upset win over the Buckeyes. Dec. 4, 2015 versus Jackson State when he found out at pre-game meal he was not going to be able to play the rest of the season due to a heart condition.

The exact diagnosis was a heart rhythm disorder called Ventricular Tachycardia.

"I could not do anything, workout, lift weights, anything. I suddenly had so much energy and free time. But I already knew that I was going to get back out there and try basketball again. It was not that big of a decision."

The next stand out date was May 5, 2016, a Tuesday morning at St. Dominic Hospital in Jackson, Mississippi. Surgery lasted two hours for an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD).

"I remember immediately learning about his health," head coach Eric Konkol said of Joniah who is just the second 7-footer he has ever coached. "I remember spending time in Jackson with his family, going through some of the tests he was going through. I have been very honored to be part of his life. He was very welcoming to me when I got here. He has such a way about him, very personable."

Joniah ended up making 20 starts at center in his return this past season, adding 26 blocks to bring his career total to 124 which is the fifth most in program history. Then came Jan. 20, 2018 versus Rice when his defibrillator went off five minutes into the game.

The TAC fell silent as he was crouched on the court in pain.

A couple of weeks later, he decided to end his basketball playing career.

"I had to take into consideration my greater purpose," Joniah said. "I have my son LJ and a family now. There were a lot of components. Was I risking my life to go play a sport. At the end of the day, it was not worth it."

"I look at him and think about all of the things he has gone through and think about how difficult that would be at 40 years old," Konkol said. "Being a young father, the health issues, being able to juggle the demands of being a college basketball player, all of the academic requirements and everything else that is asked of him. He has handled it all in stride. It is his positive outlook. He does it all with a smile on his face."

Despite the dark times, Joniah has leaned heavily on faith and patience to become the gentle giant from Duck Hill, Mississippi (even if he did scare a little girl once in Barnes & Noble due to his height).

This summer, he will become the first one in his family to graduate from college. Practically the whole town of Duck Hill will be inside the Thomas Assembly Center to watch.

There is a very good chance that someone, or many people, will ask him how tall he is.

Joniah will do what he does every single day he is asked. He will proudly smile and tell them that he is 7-feet tall.

"I'm glad I'm 7-foot and not 6-11. It fits me better."