Posted on 03/04/2011 9:23:10 AM PST by Rennes Templar
A western Michigan high school basketball player collapsed on the court and later died after making the game-winning shot to finish off his team's perfect season.
Wes Leonard, a 16-year-old Fennville High School basketball player, died Thursday night, Holland Hospital spokeswoman Deb Patterson said. The cause of death has not yet been determined.
"It's tough to take in," Leonard's teammate Shane Bale, told The Holland Sentinel. "It's like somebody from your family, you know?"
Paramedics performed CPR on Leonard before he was pronounced dead at the hospital, Patterson said.
Leonard had scored the game-winning layup in a 57-55 win over Bridgman in overtime to cap Fennville's 20-0 season. He fell to the ground after teammates and fans rushed the court.
The final Facebook posting from the standout athlete was Wednesday night when he posted, "Got a good long shower...ready for bed and game tomorrow!"
Fennville Public Schools Superintendent Dirk Weeldryer remembered Leonard as "a wonderful kid" during a press conference Friday morning.
"Even with the accolades and people calling him a star ... he was very humble and down to earth, widely liked and admired," Weeldryer said.
Leonard also was a quarterback for the high school football team.
He's the second Fennville athlete to die in 14 months. Wrestler Nathaniel Hernandez died in January of 2010 after suffering a seizure at home following his participation in a high school wrestling match. He was 14.
In an interview with the Sentinel at Tuesday's practice, Fennville coach Ryan Klingler talked about how Leonard had a great drive to succeed and that he saw the "bigger picture."
"That's what makes him a little different. He takes care of his body better than probably anybody I've ever coached," Klingler said. "Spends a lot of time on his own in the weight room."
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
There are also cases of heart problems that can cause sudden death like that. Every once in awhile you hear about them. My hubbies family has some kind of strange heart problem. After one of the cousins dropped dead before age 18, they all got checked for it. I think it’s called long Q syndrome.
My guess is a congenital heart condition that went undetected.
That’s what happened to Hank Gathers.
Call me old fashioned, but I’ll wait for the autopsy report.
It’s happened to several professional soccer players right on the pitch.
Detroit Lions fans from back in the day will never forget when Chuck Hughes collapsed and died on the field, back in 1970.
A young girl in flordia got killed bull riding, something she loved to do. The peta wackos gave her hell. This kid loved sports, and you want to drag something else in to it. Honor the kids dedication and keep your personal crusades to yourself, just may make you feel better.
Prayers to his family.
He made the winning shot before passing away. To those who don’t believe in God....coincidence?
Yep. There was a Univ. of Washington female b-ball player who dropped after a practice about 3 years ago. Her teammates performed CPR on her until the paramedics arrived. She was lucky...she survived. But, she was fitted with an internal auto-defibrillator and can’t play ball anymore. She was also diagnosed with Long Q after the fact.
Prayers to his family and friends. He was doing what he loved. What a gift. Obviously for the family and friends, that is of little comfort.
I wonder if he might have had Marfan’s Syndrome. Tall, lanky people are likely to have it, and that’s the kind of individual who tends to do well at sports like basketball.
I wonder if they had a defibrillator. CPR has a poor success rate.
When they did the autopsy on Pistol Pete Maravich, they found that his left coronary artery was missing and the right was compensating. They were amazed he even made it to 40.
Wow... He went out a “Hero” to his team - making the winning shot to cap a perfect season... still, how sad for the family and his friends.
Prayers for all involved.
Not a lot of tall and lanky HS quarterbacks.
That happened at our church's day school years ago. During gym class, a second grader dropped dead. She would be in her early thirties now. My niece was in the class. It was hard on the family, of course, and hard on the teacher too.
Prayer for his family and their community.
My teen son occasionally uses red bull before practice. I have never heard it could cause death before athletic pursuits. The only deaths caused by red bull that I can find are when it is combined with alcohol,by partying teens. Its irresponsible to blame red bull in this teen athlete’s death.
Rest in peace, young man, and prayers for all who loved him.
Most likely a condition called athletic heart. Difficult to detect without a test called an echocardiogram. Regular exam in a drs office will not pick it up
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