College Basketball Player Jeron Lewis Dies After Collapsing During Game

January 15, 2010 By 4 Comments
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Jeron Lewis, the center for Southern Indiana’s basketball team, died late last night after collapsing on the court during a game against Kentucky Wesleyan.

According to SI.com, Lewis collapsed underneath the basket with 4:00 to go in the second half. He was rushed to a local hospital wheree he was pronounced shortly before 10:00.

“The play was under the basket. The ball was rebounded, we were on defense, and the next thing I knew — most everyone knew — all of a sudden the officials start blowing whistles, and Jeron was motionless with the trainer from Kentucky Wesleyan,” Simmons told The Associated Press. “They started giving him treatment, took him to the medical center. That is where he passed away.”

Simmons said he had no details about what may have caused his death, and the school scheduled a press conference for Friday afternoon.

jeron-lewis-dies-southern-indianaHorrifyingly, many of the reports I’ve read have compared Lewis’ death to another tragic on-court death: Hank Gathers’ passing on March 4, 1990.

Based on an ESPN.com report, it appears that a head injury may have occurred when Lewis feel:

Southern Indiana player Jeron Lewis died on Thursday night, apparently from a head injury suffered during a game at Kentucky Wesleyan College. He was 21.

Lewis’ feet became tangled and he fell to the floor of the Owensboro Sportscenter and hit his head, multiple witnesses told the Evansville Courier & Press. He lay prone as trainers from both teams attended to him. He began convulsing as they tried to secure him.

The saddest part about the story is that Lewis recently celebrated the birth of his first son, Jamel. Lewis recently left the team for two days to be present for Jamel’s birth.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of Jeron Lewis and his young son. From all accounts, Lewis was a great kid, perhaps summed up best by this quote from Southern Indiana University president Linda Bennett:

“The university community is heartbroken with the passing of this outstanding young man. Jeron was an excellent example of a student athlete who strove to be the best that he could be. He will be truly missed, not only by his teammates, but by the university community.”

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* – Jeron Lewis photo credit: AP Photo/University of Southern Indiana via Miami Herald

Filed Under: CBB Tagged With: CBB, hank gathers, jeron lewis, jeron lewis dies, southern indiana
About Jerod Morris

A proud graduate of Indiana University, Jerod Morris founded Midwest Sports Fans in August of 2008 and has been its Managing Editor every day since. Follow him on Twitter (@JerodMorris) for MSF updates, sports discussion, and a compelling daily assortment of funny and interesting links.
In addition to his work at MSF, Jerod hosts the fast-growing Indiana basketball postgame show The Assembly Call and provides regular music recommendations at IndieChristmas.com. He also helped develop the Synthesis Managed WordPress Hosting platform on which MSF and all of his other sites are run.

  • http://intensedebate.com/people/DevonMSF DevonMSF

    Truly sad. I terrible event, especially to happen to someone who was playing for the love of the game. May God bless him, his son, teammates, and entire friends and family. My heart goes out to all of those who have been affected.

  • jonny rebel

    I sure am glad this ape is dead. one less drug dealer to rob good citizens

  • http://intensedebate.com/people/JerodMSF JerodMSF

    This is the most despicable comment ever left on this site. I'm leaving it up for one reason and one reason only: to shine a nice big spotlight on your bigotry and stupidity. Do me and everyone else at this site a favor: don't ever come back.

    Luckily, I know how to use an .htaccess file, so I might just redirect you to this site anytime you try to come back: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idiot

    You are a disgusting human being.

  • SKRAPPY

    FOR YYU TO SAY SOMETHIN LIK THAT SHOWS HOW IMMATURE YYU ARE. WE MAY NOT NO WHO YYU ARE OR BE ABLE TO SEE YOUR FACE BUT YYU STILL HAVE TO DEAL WITH GOD. THATS ONE OF HIS ANGELS THAT YOUR TALKIN ABOUT ABOUT AND GOD DOESNT LIK UGLY!! YYU WILL GET YOURS. MI PRAYERS GO OUT TO THE FAMILY AND THE TEAMMATES OF JERON.