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That's very cool of Ryan Gomes to have that kind of compassion and concern.
http://www.fullsportpress.com/artman...cle_1555.shtml
Excellent article.
The marketing agency I work for is going to be developing Ryan Gomes' website. He set up a foundation to help those who have heart conditions, but can not afford the technology to keep their hearts in check.
I had the opportunity to meet Ryan Gomes recently and he is a down-to-earth, hard-working young fan.
He is the first player to reach the NBA from Waterbury, CT -- the city I live in. He played for Wilby High School and alluded Coach Jim Calhoun and the UCONN Huskies, as he went to Providence and emerged as an All-American.
He may not have the most talent, but his drive and determination made an impact. GM Danny Ainge has high hopes for Gomes on his youth-movement Celtics.
I will fill you in on more details of Gomes' foundation and his website initiative.
I think he's a great young man with a bright future.
That's very cool of Ryan Gomes to have that kind of compassion and concern.
Great read. Nice job.
Heart of the Matter
By Ronak Patel
FullSportPress
The NBA does have a topic worth discussing as the start to the season is just around the corner. And no, it’s not the topic concerning the new dress code policy, which goes into affect this season. While that topic has prompted discussions on sport radio talk shows, fan forums and in print, the real story of this month is one of the heart.
This past Saturday, on a crisp October day where college football gave us many stirring come-from-behind victories, the biggest shocker of that day came via the NBA.
Atlanta Hawks center Jason Collier, a 7-footer noted for his long range touch, died suddenly in his suburban Atlanta home early on Oct. 15 after he had trouble breathing. His wife Katie, who met Collier while the two attended college at Georgia Tech, tried her best to resuscitate her husband with CPR. But it wasn‘t to be, Collier was pronounced dead upon arrival at a local hospital. He was only 28.
Basketball had lost another one of its players too early and without any warning. Collier’s death is end of an horrific off-season for the NBA.
It all began rather quietly to the mainstream NBA populace, Fred Hoiberg, a sharpshooter for the Minnesota Timberwolves, had open-heart surgery weeks after the NBA season concluded. The veteran, who is a favorite among teammates, will attempt to become the first ever player to play with a pacemaker.
6’9 Ronny Turiaf, known to the college basketball world as the likable, articulate kid who patrolled the lane for Gonzaga while the Bulldogs controlled the West Coast Conference, was drafted in the second round this past June by the Los Angeles Lakers. But even before he could suit up for the Purple and Gold, Turiaf’s life hung in the balance as doctors discovered an enlarged aortic root that required surgery. He’s hoping for a comeback.
Fifteen years earlier, another player from the West Coast Conference, Hank Gathers was just like Turiaf. He was likable, easy-going and a terror on the court -- Gathers is still the only player in NCAA history to lead the nation in scoring and rebounding in the same season.
Gathers was part of perhaps the greatest running team in basketball history, the Loyola Marymount Lions, which also included his best friend, Bo Kimble. Gathers and Kimble hailed from Philadelphia and went out west to USC to begin their college basketball careers in 1985. But after a couple years there, the “Hank and Bo show” went across the city of Los Angeles to the tiny school of Loyola Marymount.
There, under the tutelage of Paul Westhead, the Lions became everyone’s favorite team. They ran, ran and ran. If you ever saw them play, you would agree they made Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns look like a turtle trying to track down a cheetah.
During the 1989-90 season, Loyola garnered national acclaim with its showdown against LSU, the beasts of college basketball with two 7-footers, Shaquille O’Neal and Stanley Roberts.
But Gathers, who guarded Shaq the entire game, never gave in despite giving away at least seven inches and countless pounds to O‘Neal. Although the Lions lost to LSU that day in front of a national TV audience on CBS, the respect was theirs. The Lions were a national force. Gathers was sure to become a top-flight pro and the number one pick in that year’s draft.
About a month after the LSU game, on an eerie March night, Gathers was again on TV.
On ESPN Sportscenter, shown running back down the court after another alley-oop conversion, time stopped for Gathers. He collapsed near midcourt. His mother was in the stands. The image still haunts many of us to this day with her mom rushing down to the court, trying to anything to save her baby‘s life.
Gathers, who earlier in the season complained of heart pain and went down in a game, died of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. It also killed Reggie Lewis, an All-Star of the Boston Celtics, three years later in 1993.
After 12 years away from the NBA, it nearly struck again this summer when Eddy Curry, the 6’10 center formerly of the Chicago Bulls, was feared to have the same condition. The Bulls wanted him to get a DNA test before offering a contract, Curry refused. Thus, the New York Knicks jumped in and traded for him and Curry got the long-term contract he was seeking. No test required.
For Curry’s sake and ours as well, let’s hope his heart keeps beating. We don’t want another young basketball player taken from us too early.
That is a great thing Gomes is doing. Unfortunately, I'm a UConn fan and I have seen him terrorize the Huskies through the years.
Gomes wasnt highly touted coming out of High School and Calhoun did know of him, but Gomes was a bit pudgy and Calhoun didnt think he would be a fit there.
Besides, The Huskies had Caron Butler at the time and were recruiting Denham Brown and Rashad Anderson.
So it wasnt a question of Calhoun ignoring him, it happens all the time in the college game, great players are often unearthed and when they became good, people question the local coach who couldnt get him.
It happens and besides, UConn did have Butler there at the time.
Besides that, I hope and pray we dont see any more problems w/ basketball players and their heart.
Nice article.
Peter D. Rumm, MD
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