KFDM COOP Posted April 24, 2008 Report Posted April 24, 2008 Alabama State sophomore collapses, dies after pickup game MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- Alabama State basketball player Deshean Porchea collapsed and died after playing in a pickup game on campus. The 19-year-old sophomore passed out Wednesday afternoon after walking off the court and never regained consciousness, the university said. He was pronounced dead at Jackson Hospital. University spokeswoman Janel Bell said Thursday no cause of death was immediately available. Alabama State planned a candlelight vigil for Thursday evening to mourn Porchea. "He was just a good all-around kid," said Alabama State coach Lewis Jackson, who heard the news while on a recruiting trip in Florida. "He played with a contagious fire that carried over to his teammates. He was a good person. It is a great loss to our team and our university." Porchea averaged 2.1 points and was fourth on the team in assists last season for Alabama State, which won the Southwestern Athletic Conference regular-season title. School officials said Porchea had seemed in good spirits before passing out, and there was nothing unusual about his behavior. "Absolutely no one saw this coming -- there were no signs," said school president Joe Lee, who was at the hospital with Porchea's friends and teammates Wednesday. "This was a kid who was in the best shape of his life. He was in tremendous shape. The team had just come off a SWAC championship just a month ago. There was no reason for this. It's just baffling."
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