Jason Collier : 1977-2005

[Bruno]

http://www.nba.com/hawks/

The Atlanta Spirit is saddened to report the passing of Hawks center Jason Collier, 28, this morning. More information will be released as it becomes available.

[usckk]

Wow! What! Woow. This is depressing.

[Bruno]

Very sad.
It semms it's a cardiac arrest.
Good luck for his family

[usckk]

Doesn't he have brother that plays for the Jazz?

[usckk]

Oops nevermind.

[ChumpDumper]

Holy shit.

That's awful.

Condolences to all affected by the loss.

[usckk]

Associated Press


ATLANTA -- Atlanta Hawks center Jason Collier died Friday night, possibly of cardiac arrest, the team said.

Hawks spokesman Arthur Triche said no other details immediately were available.

The 7-foot, 260-pound Collier, a five-year NBA player, spent his first three seasons with Houston before joining Atlanta in 2003.

[Dre_7]

Wow, thats very sad. :depressed

My prayers go out to his fam. Thats unbelievable. :(

[ploto]

Collier experienced chest pains and his wife performed CPR and called 911.

http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/hawks/1005/15collier.html

[1Parker1]

Wow, he's so young too.

[boutons]

http://www.nba.com/playerfile/jason_collier/index.html

Amazing. With all the medical exams and staff pro-athletes have available, they still get ambushed. Hoping the cause of death is natural...

[TheAdmiral#50]

Tomorrow is promised to no one. Very sad news, my condolences go out to his family. +

[ChumpDumper]

Really puts the Curry drama in perspective.

[ploto]

Amazing. With all the medical exams and staff pro-athletes have available, they still get ambushed. Hoping the cause of death is natural...


I hope this doesn't take this thread in the wrong direction, but does this give any pause for thought about Eddy Curry.

[Ishta]

Prayers to his family and friends..That is very sad..Does anybody know if he had problems before? That's way to young:depressed . His poor wife I can't possibly imagine giving my husband cpr and him dying that is just awful for her..:depressed

[FromWayDowntown]

Such a tragedy. Very, very sad news.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Damn that sucks. :depressed

[mattyc]

Holy shit, didn't this guy play Summer League with us a few years ago?

RIP.

[tsb2000]

from cnnsi.com (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/basketball/nba/10/15/collier.ap/index.html)

ATLANTA (AP) -- Atlanta Hawks center Jason Collier died Saturday morning, possibly of cardiac arrest, the team said. He was 28.

Hawks spokesman Arthur Triche said no other details immediately were available and did not say where Collier was when he died.

The 7-foot, 260-pound Collier, a five-year NBA player, spent his first three seasons with Houston before joining Atlanta in 2003. He averaged 5.6 points and 2.9 rebounds in his career.

Collier played for Georgia Tech and was drafted by Milwaukee in the first round, with the 15th pick overall, in the 2000 NBA draft.

[tsb2000]

Oops; just when you start a thread, it's already there...thoughts and prayers to his family.

...but this is exactly why the Bulls didn't pay Curry.

[Kori Ellis]

Doesn't he have brother that plays for the Jazz?

No. You are thinking of Jason Collins.

Sincere condolences to the Collier family. Damn. :(

[Manu20]

http://www.nba.com/media/act_jason_collier.jpg

RIP

[Vashner]

Wow shocking.. 28... RIP.

[loveforthegame]

How sad for his family, friends, and team. Prayers all around.

[lilmads]

R.I.P Jason Colliers... This really sucks.. He was so young...

[romsey31]

R.I.P Jason Colliers... This really sucks.. He was so young...

R.I.P

[romsey31]

Really puts the Curry drama in perspective.


No doubt, he has to be shitting in his pants right now where ever he is.

[Dario]

:( RIP Jason

[Kori Ellis]

This is so sad.

Kenyon Jones, who played in the NBA summer leagues this summer and then died of a heart attack in August, didn't have any previous heart problems. I don't think Collier did either (maybe I'm wrong).

Do you think these are just flukes? Are players getting some kind of medication these days that is making them prone to heart problems?

It's so sad.

[Solid D]

Do you think these are just flukes? Are players getting some kind of medication these days that is making them prone to heart problems?

Non-Steroidal Anti-inflammatories Vioxx, Celebrex, Bextra are known medications with heart failure track records.

Basketball players take anti-inflamatories all the time but it's too early to know in Collier's case what his cause of death was related to. You can't jump to conclusions, obviously.

[DesiSpur_21]

Such a sad news.

Very shocking to me - Even though things like these are beyond human control, couldn't he possibly have gone through some tests (either as a part of Bball or personal).

Hope his family can cope with it..

[zeleni]

In european football there were 4 such incidents in the last 4 years I think. So non-traceble drugs really come to mind. I personally am just waiting for an Armstrong-like athlete to pass away. Then something will change, i hope.

Medication, top athletic performans and TV-add publicity of sports is eating the sport away from its roots - competition of character and body. Athletes are more and more competitor of markets, endorsements and body-recuperation. And that, I guess, will soon get you killed, don't you know.

[boutons]

"Do you think these are just flukes?"

I'd really like to know. Ventricular arrythmia? Steroids? Creatine? drugs interracting?

These dead guys have all been intense, supremely conditioned athletes for the preceding 5 or 10 years, then the heart goes poof! Is there something the medical examinations are missing? Or are the medical exams just bullshit, like they are for top business executives, a subsidy for the medical exam people?

Remember Pistol Pete?

Paxson is sure looking like the smart one, not wanting to take a chance on having Curry turn up dead.

[Solid D]

Non-traceable. Armstrong-like. Subtle....very subtle, zeleni.

[boutons]

Solid D, remember the incredibly increased-muscle of Florence Johnson, of the 6" Olympic fingernails? She never got caught on drugs, but her rapid muscle-up and early death sure point to something unnatural.

I always wondered whether Arnie's heart operation was a birth defect as announced, or due to some weakening of his heart from years of heavy steroid use.

[Horry For 3!]

Damn, that is messed up. R.I.P Jason Collier

ball it up in heaven!

[zeleni]

Non-traceable. Armstrong-like. Subtle....very subtle, zeleni.

I just don't want to understand sports as a reality show, with a title:
"Last athlete standing". It would be a great cable show, but..that just isn't sporty...

[angel_luv]

That makes me cry! My Dad died suddenly- such a terrible shock. My Dad was older but it was still way too soon.

I will pray for all of Jason's family. I know God will help them.

[ca®lo]

like how me say it here in the philippines..

PUTCHA!

thats so sad. RIP....

[BlueShark#6]

RIP J....so sad for is family...28 is no age to be clocking out.

[Mr.Vas Deferns]

Terrible news.

RIP BUDDY. :cry

[spurschick]

Who knows if it was natural causes, too much red meat, whatever... it's still too young.

[timvp]

Holy shit, didn't this guy play Summer League with us a few years ago?

RIP.

Good memory. He played for the Spurs in the Rocky Mountain Revue in 2003. He was coming off of his third dissapointing season with the Rockets and was a free agent. The next season, he ended up signing with the Hawks and did a very good job.

Sad news. He had a great chance to become the full-time starter on an up and coming Hawks team.

RIP.

[remingtonbo2001]

The Lord will take you when it's time. Like a previous post stated, "Tomorrow is never ensured".
Hopefully something good will come from this tragic event. There is a purpose for everyone. The only thing we can do is to strive to be our best. I wish his family and friends nothing but goodwill. I will keep them in my prayers. I hope you enjoy the view from way up Mr. Collier. Take Care.

[ObiwanGinobili]

wow.. :( this is just awful.
my thoughts go out ot his family.
i can just iamgine what his poor wife is going thru..... plus they have a daughter...
:depressed

[ambchang]

Heart problems are not uncommon for tall individuals. Their height requires their hearts to work extra hard to pump blood throughout the body, and with the extremely physical nature of professional sports, the heart has to work even harder.
This is such a shock, and is probably the last thing people think of when they see these extremely atheletic young men.
RIP, and God bless his family.

[SpursWoman]

That is so sad... :(

[ChumpDumper]

Hawks stunned
Marty Burns, SI.com

The news of Jason Collier's death has left the Hawks' organization devastated, according to GM Billy Knight.

"Jason was a great guy," Knight said Saturday, shortly after informing Hawks players and coaches of the sad news. "He was a great teammate, a great member of the organization. He'd do whatever he was asked from a community relations standpoint.

"This has nothing to do with basketball. Jason was a friend, a family man and a first-class person. We're going to miss him."

Knight met with his players early Saturday morning after they arrived at Philips Arena for a scheduled practice. He and coach Mike Woodson addressed the squad in a "very somber" locker room, in the words of a Hawks official who was present. Hawks forward Al Harrington, who shared locker space with Collier, was said to be particularly upset.


"Everybody took it hard," Knight said. "We're all still shocked. It's not something you can prepare for."

Collier's death, possibly to a heart attack, is sure to renew the debate about the Eddy Curry situation. Ironically, the Hawks were one of the teams that pursued Curry as a free agent during the offseason before deciding his heart issues made him too much of a risk. Knight declined Saturday to speculate on the cause of Collier's death, but said the Hawks were not aware of any heart problems or health issues for the 28-year-old 7-footer.

"Jason was completely healthy as far as we knew," Knight said. An autopsy is expected soon, a team official said.

For now, the Hawks are too busy grieving to think about anything other than Collier and his wife and 1-year-old daughter. The former Georgia Tech star might not have been the biggest name on the roster, but he was a big part of the team. He was the longest-tenured Hawk, having signed as a free agent in 2003, and was considered a willing ambassador for the organization.

Last week he took new teammate Jonathan Edwards under his wing, according to Knight, helping the 24-year-old and his family get settled into their new Atlanta area home. He was also scheduled to give the pre-game greeting for fans at the team's exhibition game Tuesday.

"Yesterday we asked him to give the welcoming statement, to greet the fans," Hawks VP of media relations Arthur Triche said. "He said, 'Yeah, sure.' ... He gladly accepted it. That's the kind of guy he was, always willing to do whatever was needed in the community or for the organization.

"Right now, it's a feeling of total devastation. Nothing in the world can prepare you for something like this."

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=Ap7BWeNl8SDRT.D1R_wF4ou8vLYF?slug=cnnsi-hawksstunned&prov=cnnsi&type=lgns

[Duncan21]

he has a one year old daughter aswell, i couldn't imagine growing up without a dad.

R.I.P Jason Collier

[navarat]

god bless his soul, I remember him playing for houston. he was a pretty decent player.This just tells us one thing, theres only one sure thing in the world, If you live, you die, but jason collier died too soon.
Rest in peace buddy!

[Spurs16212]

Our prayers go out to the Collier family.

[sanman53]

Geez, prayers to the family!

[ALVAREZ6]

That's terrible. Very sad.






I can't believe it. He was only 28...prayers to his family.

[Murphy]

RIP, very very sad. But... I have a question, I have no knowledge of medicine but with some commercials i have seen, i'm asking myself, would having one of these would have made a difference and possibly save his life? A phillips heart start??
http://www.seniorcitizens.com/weblog/phillips.heart.start.jpg
I'm just curious.

[themvp]

Rip

[DieMrBond]

Gotta feel for the family, especially his parents. Your children are supposed to outlast you, its a pain that your not meant to feel - seeing your children pass away. :(

Rest in peace. Good luck to his family.

[Manu20]

Updated: Oct. 16, 2005, 10:38 AM ET
Cause of death not immediately clear

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2192066

ATLANTA -- Atlanta Hawks center Jason Collier died early Saturday after he had trouble breathing and was stricken in his home, his father said. He was 28.

General manager Billy Knight said the cause of death was not immediately clear for the 7-foot, 260-pound player. He said Collier had "no issues" in a preseason physical given to all players.

Jeff Collier told The Associated Press his son died in an ambulance on the way to the hospital and did not have any diagnosed health problems apart from his knees.

Team spokesman Arthur Triche initially said Collier possibly died of cardiac arrest, but would not provide details. He later said the team was not sure how Collier died. Collier's agent, Richard Howell, said an autopsy was being performed.

Later, Forsyth County Coroner Lauren McDonald said the family asked him not to release any preliminary results Saturday. He said he would make a statement Sunday.

"We'll wait until the experts can tell us, but there's no comments about any speculating at all that I'm going to do," Knight said. "Right now we just think about Jason and his family, his wife and a daughter. He was a good guy, a great teammate and a member of our organization. We're going to miss him."

The Hawks canceled an open scrimmage Saturday, but will play a preseason game on Monday night at Charlotte.

"We are saddened by the news of Jason Collier's sudden passing," NBA commissioner David Stern said. "He epitomized hard work, dedication and perseverance, and more importantly compassion, kindness and selflessness."

Jeff Collier said he received a phone call at 3:30 a.m. Saturday from Jason's wife, Katie, who said her husband was having trouble breathing and quickly turned blue.


"You get a call and it's your daughter-in-law crying saying she's giving him CPR and trying to keep him going," Jeff Collier said. "I guess it took awhile for the paramedics to get there. He had a slight pulse when they took him and he passed away in the ambulance while they took him to the hospital."


Jeff Collier told the AP by phone from his home in Springfield, Ohio, that his son had knee surgery when he played in Houston.


"We don't know exactly what happened," he said. "I'm anxious to find out. But I guess it doesn't make a whole lot of difference at this point."


Howell said Collier and his wife ate dinner at a restaurant Friday night and then returned home, where Collier spent time playing with his daughter.


"He started feeling real bad in the middle of the night," said Howell, who spoke with Collier's wife. "It's just very sad. I'm totally stunned and devastated."

"He was a down-low comedian," Hawks captain Al Harrington said with tears in his eyes. "He always had a joke for something that you couldn't hear unless you were sitting right next to him. He was a hilarious dude. And it's crazy to me to think we'll never see him again."

Harrington and Collier sat near each other in the Hawks' locker room. He and guard Tony Delk took the news of Collier's death especially hard.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constituion, Delk said his and Collier's wives talked frequently and that their daughters played together often.

"Jason was just a different dude," Delk told the newspaper. "He lived out by Lake Lanier and nobody else on the team lives out that way. He used to talk about how his commute took forever. But he loved being by the lake."

Collier's death is particularly shocking in an era when an NBA player's health is so closely scrutinized. Eddy Curry, who was forced to miss time with the Chicago Bulls last year due to an irregular heartbeat, underwent numerous tests on his heart before his trade to the Knicks could be completed last week.

"I'm actually glad I took the test I did take [for the Knicks]," Curry told reporters before New York's preseason matchup with New Jersey on Saturday. "I had so many doctors look at everything about my heart to make sure I'm 100 percent ready to come on this court.

"But I hope [my situation doesn't overshadow] that something tragic happened and that it's a tough time for his family. You keep praying for the family and hope they make it through."

Collier was a part-time starting center the last two seasons after playing mostly as a backup in three years at Houston. He began his college career at Indiana before transferring to Georgia Tech.

Former Tech coach Bobby Cremins said Collier "was a happy-go-lucky kid."

He married an Atlanta girl and adopted Atlanta as his hometown," Cremins said. "He came back and got his degree, which I was very proud of."

Collier started 44 games last season for Atlanta, averaging 5.7 points and 2.6 rebounds in 13.5 minutes. With the addition of Zaza Pachulia, Collier was not projected as a starter this season but was viewed as a top backup. In two preseason games, Collier averaged 3.5 points and 3.0 rebounds.

Collier was drafted by Milwaukee in 2000 in the first round, the 15th pick overall, and was traded to Houston.

Jeff Collier said Jason had been married to Katie for four years and had a 1-year-old daughter, Elezan.

The elder Collier played at Georgia Tech from 1972-76 and said his son initially decided to wear the same No. 52 he did at Tech.

"He was a beautiful kid," Collier said. "Everybody he touched liked him. He played basketball from the time he was in the fourth grade until now. I don't think the kid was ever in a fight or an altercation."

Funeral arrangements are incomplete but the family plans a private viewing.

"Jason didn't really care to be a spectacle," his father said. "He would have wanted this to be a quiet thing. Instead of people being grim, he wants them laughing."

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

Tim Legler on Jason Collier's death

The death of Jason Collier is a great tragedy for his family, the Atlanta Hawks and the NBA family. My deepest sympathies are with the Collier family. I remember when I played for the Washington Wizards during the 1996-'97 season and the team took a cruise together in early August. On the way back our assistant coach Derek Smith died of a heart attack next to me on the ship. Derek was a former NBA player who played 10 years and was an exceptional NBA athlete. After his death the doctors diagnosed he had an enlarged heart and was lucky to have played those ten years.
His death will cast a pall over the team for the rest of the season. This is already a young team and Collier was a popular player who had worked his butt off to get to the NBA. Even though Coach Smith died in August and we had almost six weeks to our first game it was still extremely difficult to play and not think of the tragedy.

Losing Coach Smith was unbelievably hard to deal with because he was such a great man and friend. He left a wife and two young children who were on the cruise ship at the time of his death. I'll never forget having breakfast with his children the morning after his death. It was one of the most heartbreaking moments of my life.

On the team the people feeling the loss the most will be Collier's closest friends. Everyday they are going to have to look over at his locker and the memories are going to start hitting them. It takes a long while for players to get over the passing of a teammate because teammates are like brothers. These are guys who are around you everyday and who see you at your best and worst. They hear your bad jokes, make fun of you and most of the time have your back. The loss of Collier is going to damage these kids for a long while because they've lost their brother.

Tim Legler, NBA Insider

John Hollinger: Replacing Collier on the court

While the Hawks try to overcome their grief over Jason Collier's passing, they'll also need to figure out how to replace him on the court. Collier started 44 games last season, averaging 13 minutes per game, and figured to play a similar amount this year as Zaza Pachulia's primary backup at center. The southpaw was Atlanta's best shooting big man and was especially effective on pick-and-pop plays.
Filling that void will be either Esteban Batista or John Edwards. The seven-foot Edwards played sparingly for Indiana as a rookie last season. He can replace Collier's size defensively but isn't nearly as skilled as Collier was at the offensive end, shooting only 36.7 percent with the Pacers. Batista, a rookie from Uruguay, is a lefty with a good midrange jumper, much like Collier. However, at 6-10 he's short for a center and will have trouble replacing the seven-foot Collier on defense.

John Hollinger, NBA Insider

[bonesinaz]

Heart problems are not uncommon for tall individuals. Their height requires their hearts to work extra hard to pump blood throughout the body, and with the extremely physical nature of professional sports, the heart has to work even harder.
This is such a shock, and is probably the last thing people think of when they see these extremely atheletic young men.
RIP, and God bless his family.

I just caught this thread and your post is exactly right. The tall athlete's heart has to work harder because it has a longer (taller) distance to pump blood. This may lead to an enlarged heart.

The reason (possible endocrine disorder) the athlete is so tall may also contribute to the heart pathology.

[NZHayden]

rats man, rip

[boutons]

The New York Times
October 17, 2005

Collier's Autopsy to Be Kept Private
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 5:56 p.m. ET

ATLANTA (AP) -- Jason Collier's family asked that results of his autopsy be kept private until after Wednesday's funeral.

Collier, the Atlanta Hawks' 28-year-old center, died early Saturday after he had trouble breathing in his north Georgia home.

''We need to make sure we're very thorough with this,'' Forsyth County Coroner Lauren McDonald III said Monday. ''It's a situation that may take time. I really don't want to say too much until after the service, out of respect for the family, as far as talking about the results. They would appreciate if we could not discuss that aspect until after the service.''

Collier's agent, Richard Howell, said Monday that the autopsy has not been released only because it is not finished.

''I've talked to the family today and the autopsy remains incomplete,'' Howell said. ''It will definitely be days if not weeks before the pathologists complete their work. The family is anxious to know what happened but understands that a thorough autopsy takes time.''

On Monday in Charlotte, N.C., Collier's uniform hung in an empty locker as the Hawks lost a preseason game to the Charlotte Bobcats. The team said it will leave the uniform in the locker and set out a chair for Collier before each game.

Players will wear permanent black shoulder patches on their uniforms to honor Collier, who was a part-time starter the last two seasons for Atlanta after three years in Houston. He began his college career at Indiana before transferring to Georgia Tech.

McDonald said his office is pulling Collier's medical records from the Rockets and Hawks and forwarding that information to the pathologist.

Foul play is not a suspected cause of death, he said.

''There is not anything that would cause anyone to think there was any foul play,'' McDonald said.

''I look at this guy as being as healthy as can be. It shocked me and shocked the family and of course the sports community. We want to make sure we do this very thoroughly, just as on any 28-year-old you would want to know, even if he wasn't in the good health Mr. Collier was.''

McDonald originally indicated results of the autopsy could be available Saturday night or Sunday. On Sunday he said it would be at least Monday before the results would be released.

''We want to make sure we give you the correct answers,'' McDonald said. ''We're just asking for everyone to be patient.''

* Copyright 2005 The Associated Press

[John T]

On espn.com

Autopsy incomplete, but focus is on heart 'abnormality'By Chris Sheridan
ESPN Insider



Medical examiners are focusing on the possibility of a heart abnormality in their investigation into the sudden death of 28-year-old Atlanta Hawks center Jason Collier, according to his agent.


"They are looking at the heart," agent Richard Howell told ESPN.com. "They preliminarily see an abnormality, but they still have a lot of work to do. It could be anything, and they're looking at everything."


Howell said he had received no further specifics on what particular type of heart abnormality Collier apparently had. Collier died early Saturday after experiencing trouble breathing at his home. His wife administered CPR, but Collier was pronounced dead on arrival at a suburban Atlanta hospital.


Forsyth County coroner Lauren McDonald said it could take up to six weeks before the autopsy is finalized. Pathologists and technicians are conducting numerous tests and reviewing Collier's medical records from his time with the Houston Rockets and Hawks as part of their investigation.


Hawks spokesman Arthur Triche said the team had been asked by Collier's family to defer any comment until after Collier's funeral Wednesday.


Howell stressed that the Collier's apparent heart abnormality was only one of many causes of death being investigated by the coroner's office. He said he was concerned over what he perceived as a growing public misperception that an exact cause of death had already been determined and was being kept from the public.


"The real story here is what a tragedy this is for Jason's family," Howell said. "The autopsy is incomplete, period, and there is no autopsy report being withheld. The facts are that the family is anxiously awaiting the autopsy and have not made any specific request that the autopsy results not be released."


McDonald said he regretted if his earlier comments regarding the family's wishes had been misconstrued.


"I want people to focus on his life, not his death," McDonald said.


Heart ailments among basketball players have been a major topic in the NBA for the past month. Center Eddy Curry, who missed the final 13 regular-season games and the playoffs last season after experiencing an irregular heartbeat, was traded by the Chicago Bulls to New York earlier this month after he refused to take a DNA test that might have shown whether he was genetically susceptible to cardiomyopathy.


Reggie Lewis of the Boston Celtics died of sudden cardiac arrest in 1993, and Loyola Marymount forward Hank Gathers collapsed during a game and died on the court in 1990. Both were afflicted with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, an excessive thickening of the heart muscle.


During his three seasons with the Rockets, Collier spoke often of the lake home he hoped to build someday in Georgia, where he had met his wife, Katie, and played at Georgia Tech. Collier wound up with the Hawks in March 2004 and was in the process of building a home on Lake Lanier, about an hour away from his job with the Hawks.


"He was a really nice kid, really fun to be around, and that's what makes it even more difficult," said Detroit coach Flip Saunders, who worked with Collier with the Minnesota Timberwolves in October 2003.




Carie

[RashoFan]

:cry

Very sad news indeed. My condolences to family, friends, and team.

[T Park]

does it make me a bad person, when i heard this, the first thing I thought was

"Wonder if they will be interested in Rasho"


Shame, I thought the guy was turning a corner and was turning into a solid NBA Center.


Prayers to all involved, horrible horrible tragedy.

[ploto]

So heartbreaking to think of that uniform hanging there and the empty chair.