The legend of Big Roy took place when I was in school at Oklahoma State. During the reign of Eddie Sutton, many of his teams started three, sometimes four players who should be labeled as guards. Because basketball fans are predictable, the novelty of this was under appreciated. There was always the dream a seven footer was going to just show up on campus and make the basketball program a favorite to win the national title.
Making this fantasy lucid was history. There was one time a seemingly uncoordinated, doughy goliath from Gans, Oklahoma (population 218) arrived on campus and was the Big 8 Player-of-the-Year by his sophomore season. After that, every project was predicted to be a superstar. As a result lead-footed, actually uncoordinated giants were always welcomed on campus as saviors. Ben Baum. Frans Steyn. Alex Webber. Kenny Cooper. But most significantly, Big Roy Candley.