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 ...
Cardiomyopathy refers to diseases of the heart muscle. These diseases enlarge your heart muscle or make it thicker and more rigid than normal. In rare cases, scar tissue replaces the muscle tissue.
Some people live long, healthy lives with cardiomyopathy. Some people don’t even realize they have it. In others, however, it can make the heart less able to pump blood through the body. This can cause serious complications, including
Heart failure
http://www.bing.com/health/article/medlineplus-1000239486/Cardiomyopathy?q=cardiomyopathy+treatment
Prayers for the family and friends.
How terribly sad. Best regards to his family.
There was nothing wrong with the poster expressing speculation about what may have caused it. It’s natural. No need to bitch him/her out over it. As to the kid loving his game and being dedicated and all that, fine. I’m sure he’d rather be alive, and that’s a harder truth.
Chill out, you might feel less cranky.
BS, but I. Hope you feel better.
Oh. You don’t think the kid would rather be alive? You don’t think what caused his death is important?
Okey-dokey. You are one sick puppy. You’re lucky mental illness isn’t usually fatal.
Buh-bye. Have a nice day.
th other one was a wrestler tho, my guess is he was starving/dehydrating himself to make weight and ended up with a deadly electrolyte imbalance
Thousands of soldiers, sailors, and airmen have to do the same every six months to make the services’ insane neck-waist measurement standards. Don’t forget handfuls of laxatives and vomiting after meals...
Sad.
Thanks. I am going to see if I can stop my son from drinking them. He has only done it about 4x, and only ONE small red bull.
Why don't you get the mods to pull that post.
There is some kind of heart disease that is virtually undetectable - until it happens. Owen Brown [U. MD basketball alum], Hank Gathers [Loyola Marymount Basketball], and Flo Hymen [U.S. Womens Volleyball] all died from it on the court. Happens more frequently to blacks - but a white kid when I was in Jr. High also died from it [again, on the court].
Hank Gathers was particularly tragic since it happened RIGHT BEFORE the NCAA Tournament - and Loyola Marymount had not been in for a long time. Hank was the reason they got there. As a tribute, his teammate shot his first foul shot in each game of the tournament left-handed in tribute [and MADE ALL 3] ...
This reminds me of the way John Ritter died: unknowingly suffered from a heart condition that eventually killed him.
I remember there was a Spanish La Liga soccer match, a few years ago, a player collapsed on the pitch, he did manage to get up and walk to the locker room, but then collapsed again in the locker room, and died the next day, very sad.
That’s what I was thinking too.
It only goes to show how nothing is unthinkable.
The thing is that is not virtually undetectable. A simple echocardiogram will reveal it in about 10 minutes. It also shows up on an EKG and symptoms often start to present themselves that people ignore. Hank Gathers had symptoms and was being treated. He should have been checked and they would have caught it. I had symptoms that I ignored until it was too late.
Texas has been considering mandatory testing of all high school athletes for this condition (HCM) and requiring defibrillators to be present at all events.
Now that they have determined that this young man died from HCM, I hope there is an increased push to have all athletes tested. I have had both my sons tested as it is a genetic condition.
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