Kevin Widemond (December 24, 1985 – October 25, 2009) was an American
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
player. After starring at Texas A&M University–Commerce he went on to play professionally in Portugal where he collapsed and later died after suffering a
heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...
during a game.
Early life
Widemond was born in
Newark, New Jersey
Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.West Side High School.
College career
Widemond was a two-year starter for
San Jacinto College
San Jacinto College is a public community college in the Greater Houston with its campuses in Pasadena and Houston, Texas. Established in 1961, San Jacinto College originally consisted of the independent school districts (ISD) of Channelview, De ...
and then played at Texas A&M University–Commerce in Commerce, Texas, where he majored in Business Administration. During the 2006–07 season with the university's Lion team, he led his team with 84 three pointers and was second on the team in scoring with 14.1 ppg playing in all 28 games, and earning a start in 24 games. He scored in double digits in 20 of his 28 games, including a career-high 27 against Eastern New Mexico on December 9, 2006). As a senior, in 2007–08, Widemond led the Lions to the championship game of the Lone Star Conference Tournament and earned All-Tournament team honors.
Professional career and death
After graduation, Widemond signed for the Portuguese basketball club Ovarense of the
Portuguese Basketball Premier League
The Liga Portuguesa de Basquetebol ( en, Portuguese Basketball League), also known as Liga Betclic for sponsorship reasons, is the top men's professional club basketball league in Portugal.
History
From the 2008–09 season onward, the competiti ...
in the 2009–2010 season. A month into the season he died of a
heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...
during a game. The
Portuguese Basketball Federation
The Portuguese Basketball Federation ( pt, Federação Portuguesa de Basquetebol) is the sports governing body, governing body for basketball in Portugal. Established on 17 August 1927, it became one of the eight founding national member federatio ...
said he collapsed in the locker room during halftime of a game between his team Ovarense and Academica in
Leiria
Leiria (; cel-x-proto, ɸlāryo) is a city and municipality in the Central Region of Portugal. It is the 2nd largest city in that same region, with a municipality population of 128,640 (as of 2021) in an area of . It is the seat of its own distr ...
, in northern Portugal for third-place playoff game of the
António Pratas Trophy
The Troféu António Pratas (English: ''António Pratas Trophy'') is an annual cup competition for Portuguese basketball teams organized by the Portuguese Basketball Federation. Created in 2007 to honour António Pratas, its first edition was only ...
. He died in the hospital when efforts of resuscitation failed. Widemond was the fourth basketball player to die in Portugal, the others being Angel Almeyda (Spain), Rui Guimarães (Angola) and Paulo Pinto (Portugal). His death started a movement to push for instillations of
defibrillators
Defibrillation is a treatment for life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias, specifically ventricular fibrillation (V-Fib) and non-perfusing ventricular tachycardia (V-Tach). A defibrillator delivers a dose of electric current (often called a ''coun ...
in schools, sports venues and other public places in Portugal.