'Dancing with the Stars': 6-foot-7 Rick Fox on dwarfing his partner

The moment 6-foot-7 retired NBA player Rick Fox became a rumored Season 11 contestant on "Dancing with the Stars," fans wondered which of the female pros the towering Fox could possibly partner with. Their answer? Cheryl Burke.

Although taller than some of her co-stars, Burke is still more than a foot shorter than Fox -- though not with the aid of the right heels. Fox knows that this could be a problem for some taller guys, but he's already plotting how to use it to his advantage. When Zap2it caught up with him at the "DWTS" casting announcement, he shed a little light on his plan.

"Jason Taylor opened a door for bigger guys, considering most of the female dancers are in the 5-foot-4 to 5-foot-5 range," says Fox of the 6-foot-6 NFL linebacker and Season 6 runner-up. "I've watched a number of his videos, and he really owned his height. He didn't dance down and just went in there and used his posture to create a power and strength. I think that's one of the things that can work for me."

Fox also says that he's looked to Emmitt Smith and Evan Lysacek, two of "DWTS'" more successful athlete competitors, as models, though none of them come close to his stature. Clyde Drexler, the competition's only NBA player up until now who was knocked out four episodes into Season 4, has been more of cautionary tale.

"I think that's just the case with athletes," Fox says. "They can either find it or their bodies may not be able to react and respond to it, so they check out early."

Fox still couldn't spill the identity of his dance partner when we chatted with him, but he did say that things were working out so far and that he was thankful the producers kindly selected one of the taller dancers for him.

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