EVANSVILLE, Ind. — Being a center for the University of Evansville men's basketball team meant Kwame James was responsible for pulling down the rebounds and making the close shots.
But over the weekend, the 6-foot-8 James was one of a handful of passengers on a Paris-to-Miami flight who helped subdue a man allegedly trying to light a stash of explosives hidden in his shoes.
James' plane, American Airlines Flight 63, landed safely Saturday in Boston after the incident. The Boeing 767 jetliner with 185 passengers and 12 crew members on board was escorted by military jets to Logan International Airport.
"It gave me goose bumps, because just the whole thing, knowing somebody now that is involved with that directly and did such a courageous thing is just awesome," said Kirk Sarff, one of James' old coaches on the staff of UE coach Jim Crews.
James, who was born in Trinidad, played at UE from 1996 through 2000. Before that, he attended Lawrence North High School in Indianapolis. He moved to the United States and lived with his aunt before going to college on a basketball scholarship.
James never played basketball until he was 13. He actually played more soccer and ran more track than any time he spent on the hardwood.
Now, he plays professionally for a European league team based in Paris. Sarff said he suspects James was on his way back to America for the holidays when the disturbance on the plane began.
Passengers subdued the man, some taking off their own belts to secure him into his seat, officials said. Two doctors used the airplane's onboard medical kit to sedate him, and the man's shoe was removed.
James could not be reached for comment Sunday. Telephone messages left at his Evansville address were not returned.
A crew from CNN interviewed James at Boston's airport Sunday, however. James told the reporter that the man on the plane was "unbelievably strong." The network reported that when the commotion took place, a flight attendant asked James for help. An Italian passenger was the first to make it to the man, but James and others followed, he said. "We held him down, and then eventually a doctor came and gave him an injection to subdue him," James told CNN. "A lot of people showed a lot of bravery."
James said that when the man was being restrained, he uttered the words in English: "You'll see. You'll all see."
Sarff said he wasn't surprised to hear James was one of the men whose assistance may have saved the flight.
"Kwame is the biggest-hearted guy around," Sarff said. "He was a very nice basketball player for us, but he is so kind-hearted, and for him to step up to the plate like that is no surprise to me," the coach said.