Jason Collier

Not to be confused with Jason Collins.
Jason Collier
Personal information
Born (1977-09-08)September 8, 1977
Springfield, Ohio
Died October 15, 2005(2005-10-15) (aged 28)
Cumming, Georgia
Nationality American
Listed height 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Listed weight 260 lb (118 kg)
Career information
High school Catholic Central (Springfield, Ohio)
College
NBA draft 2000 / Round: 1 / Pick: 15th overall
Selected by the Milwaukee Bucks
Playing career 2000–2005
Position Center
Number 52, 40
Career history
2000–2003 Houston Rockets
2003–2004 Fayetteville Patriots
2004–2005 Atlanta Hawks
Career highlights and awards
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Jason Jeffrey Collier (September 8, 1977 – October 15, 2005) was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). At death, the 7-foot-tall (2.1 m) center Collier weighed 250 pounds (110 kg). He was the first active NBA player to die since Malik Sealy in 2000.

Collier led Catholic Central High School of his hometown Springfield, Ohio to the 1996 Ohio State Basketball Championship, for which he was named 1996 Ohio Mr. Basketball. After transferring from Indiana, he completed his college career at Georgia Tech and was drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks with the 15th overall pick of the 2000 NBA Draft. He was traded on draft day to the Houston Rockets in exchange for their pick, Joel Przybilla. He then played for the Rockets and the Atlanta Hawks, averaging 5.6 points per game over his career.

During the NBA off-season, Collier died suddenly at the age of 28 on October 15, 2005 in Cumming, Georgia. His autopsy indicated that he died because of a "sudden heart rhythm disturbance caused by an abnormally enlarged heart."[1] Georgia's chief medical examiner, Dr. Kris Sperry, said Collier's heart "was above the accepted limits, even for a man of his size", and said the organ was about one and a half times the size it should have been.[2] It was reported that he experienced shortness of breath before losing consciousness. Medical treatment was performed by emergency medical technicians, but Collier died en route to the hospital.

The Hawks wore permanent black shoulder patches on their uniforms to honor Collier.[3] In his honor, the NBA Development League, on which Collier played for a year in the Fayetteville Patriots and was named to the All-NBA Development League Team, unveiled in the following season the Jason Collier Sportsmanship Award.[4]

References

  1. ↑ "Sports Shorts: Autopsy shows Collier had enlarged heart". The Technique. 2005-11-04. Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2007-05-16.
  2. ↑ Autopsy shows Hawks' Collier had enlarged heart
  3. ↑ Autopsy reveals Hawks' Collier had heart problem
  4. ↑ Fort Worth’s Ime Udoka Wins 2005-06 Jason Collier Sportsmanship Award
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/29/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.