A 20-year-old basketball varsity suddenly died after a cardiac event while playing a game on Saturday.
Reports revealed that college basketball player Derek Gray of the University of Wisconsin unexpectedly died while “playing the game he loved.”
According to Gray’s coach Pat Miller, the basketball player had suffered a “cardiac event” due to a “blockage” and that Gray showed no signs that he was having difficulty.
“He was not labored, there was nothing we saw,” the coach added.
Miller also recalled Gray’s passion for the sport.
“He was a player I had a lot of long conversations [with] about life, basketball, family, and community. He was a very intelligent guy, very intuitive, and I really enjoyed his perspectives,” Gray’s coach said.
“His teammates loved him. He had a really unique ability to connect with all his teammates in different ways.” He added.
Miller then described how Gray suddenly collapsed during the game.
“It was horrible. We have our overnight camp. At the end of our evening session, we get pizza for the campers and all our camp counselors play a game and play music, and it’s just kind of a fun thing. He collapsed during the game.” He said.
“It was just a tragic and awful thing. It was just a very surreal situation where you’re thinking, ‘OK, he’s going to be alright,’ and then you’re very scared and the longer it went on, it became apparent that this was extraordinarily serious,” Miller added.
Miller then described how traumatic the tragic incident was for him.
“I’ve been around for a long time. I’ve seen a lot of different things. It was one of the most traumatic things I’ve ever been a part of.” He continued.
Moreover, following Gray’s tragic death, UW-Whitewater athletic director Ryan Callahan released an official statement regarding the incident.
“Words cannot describe how we all feel about the loss of Derek. He was an amazing young man with a bright future. My heart goes out to his family and all that were fortunate enough to get to know Derek.” Callahan said.
At the time of writing, family, coaches, friends and teammates are continuing to mourn the sudden death of Derek Gray.
