A report from Yahoo! Sports reveals it was LeBron James — not Alejandro Maldonado — who missed the game-tying field goal on Saturday.@@names checked@@ Players in the locker room at halftime said James sneaked in and convinced Maldonado to hand over his gear to let him be the kicker for the second half of the game.
“I didn’t think it was a big deal because I thought the game was over,” Maldonado said. “We were being crushed.”
James walked out on the field wearing Maldonado’s uniform, causing members in the crowd to be confused by his increased height.
“I didn’t think it was the same guy,” University student Steve Wilbur said. “But I was too busy focusing on the Ducks’ suck-fest.”
James, who was an all-state receiver in high school, said he was thrilled to be back on the football field — even if it was as the kicker.
“I’ve never played a down as kicker in my life,” he said. “I remember thinking, ‘It couldn’t be harder than developing a midrange jump shot, right?’”
He said his confidence was boosted after knocking down a PAT in the third. He said it seemed way too easy.
But as the fourth quarter came around and the Ducks began rallying a comeback, James started frantically biting his nails and looking for his baby powder.
“I didn’t know what was going on with him,” Oregon head coach Chip Kelly said. “He turned into a totally different player in the last few minutes of the game.”
Kelly was forced to attempt a two-point conversion late in the game, stating in a press conference that Maldonado (James) was not capable of making a big play at that moment.
“Nobody was surprised on the (Oregon) sidelines when (James) missed the game-tying field goal at the end,” Oregon quarterback Darron Thomas@@checked@@ said. “He just doesn’t have it in the clutch.”