How 'Big Game James' Almost Didn’t Play in the Big Game

Originally Published: Mar 1, 2010 10:57 PM CDT

Kyle Dierking
Oklahoma Sports Mobile Journalist

STILLWATER, Oklahoma - On the eve of what would be OSU's biggest win of the season, there was restless uncertainty.

"Obviously I didn't sleep well," said OSU head coach Travis Ford.

Probably Ford's biggest nightmare nearly became a reality - superstar guard James Anderson suffered a back injury the day before the team's game against number one Kansas.

"He would lean one way and lean back and get stuck. It couldn't move," Ford said.

All of the sudden, the player nicknamed "Big Game James" was questionable for the team's biggest game.

"I went in the training room with him and still when he walked in the door I said 'how do you feel?' I thought he'd say great and still be hurt, but he said 'coach its better but it’s still really bothering me - really bothering me,'" Ford said.

As the training staff worked to get his back in playing shape, Ford still didn't know if Anderson would be able to play.

"I thought the adrenaline and everything going on with the game, he would have a chance," Ford said.

Twenty seven points, eight rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals later, the fans rushed the floor in the Cowboys first win over a top-ranked team in 21 years.

"I was going to play regardless,” Anderson said following the win. “It could have been a broken leg; I was going to drag it all the way down the court."

If Ford would have known that ahead of time, he could have been rest assured.