Zena Ray "Zeke" Upshaw (May 27, 1991 – March 26, 2018) was an American professional

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. He began his

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

career with the

Illinois State Redbirds The Illinois State Redbirds are the athletic teams that represent Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois. Teams play at the NCAA Division I level ( FCS in football). The football team competes in the Missouri Valley Football Conference w ...

. After playing sparingly for three seasons, he transferred to join the

Hofstra Pride The Hofstra Pride (formerly the Hofstra Flying Dutchmen) are composed of 17 teams representing Hofstra University in intercollegiate athletics, including men and women’s basketball, cross-country running, golf, lacrosse, soccer, tennis and tra ...

, where he led the

Colonial Athletic Association The Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I whose full members are located in East Coast states from Massachusetts to South Carolina. Most of its members are public universi ...

(CAA) in scoring and was named second-team all-conference. Upshaw played professionally in

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

and

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

before returning to the United States and joining the

Grand Rapids Drive The Grand Rapids Gold are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and are affiliated with the Denver Nuggets. The Gold play their home games at Van Andel Arena. They began play as the Anaheim ...

of the

NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...

(now known as the G League). In the Drive's regular season finale in 2017–18, he collapsed on the court in the game's final minute and died two days later.

High school career

Upshaw was born in Chicago. As a child, he gravitated toward basketballs at

Toys "R" Us Toys "R" Us is an American toy, clothing, and baby product retailer owned by Tru Kids (doing business as Tru Kids Brands) and various others. The company was founded in 1957; its first store was built in April 1948, with its headquarters loc ...

over all the other toys in the store. He began playing organized basketball when he was six. Upshaw attended the

University of Chicago Laboratory Schools The University of Chicago Laboratory Schools (also known as Lab or Lab Schools and abbreviated as UCLS though the high school is nicknamed U-High) is a Private school, private, co-educational Day school, day Early childhood education, Pre-K and K� ...

where he averaged 24 points, 12

rebounds 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

and seven assists as a junior in 2008, when he was named the

most valuable player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

(MVP) of the

Independent School League Independent School League or ISL may refer to: * Independent School League (Illinois), a group of nine Chicago-area preparatory schools * Independent School League (New England), a group of 16 New England preparatory schools * Independent School Le ...

College career

After redshirting his first year at

Illinois State University Illinois State University (ISU) is a public university in Normal, Illinois. Founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University, it is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teaching and is recognized as one of th ...

(ISU), Upshaw played three years for the Redbirds, albeit with minimal playing time. He averaged 1.6 points per game, while never averaging more than 7.4 minutes played per game. He graduated from Illinois State with a degree in apparel, merchandising and design in 2013, but transferred to

Hofstra Hofstra University is a private university in Hempstead, New York. It is Long Island's largest private university. Hofstra originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University (NYU) under the name Nassau College – Hofstra Memorial of New ...

for his final season of

NCAA eligibility The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and ...

. Upshaw exercised the graduate transfer exception, which enables players who have already received their degree but have eligibility remaining to be able to play immediately at another school while studying for a post-graduate degree in a discipline that was not available in their previous school. He was seeking a school where he could be an "impact player and have an opportunity to lay professionallyoverseas or somewhere." After receiving his release from ISU, Upshaw was originally recruited by Niagara coach

Joe Mihalich Joseph Anthony Mihalich (born August 29, 1956) is an American former college basketball coach and current Special Assistant to the Head Coach at La Salle University. Mihalich was previously the men's basketball head coach at Hofstra University f ...

. However, the coach left soon for Hofstra, where he told Upshaw the opportunity to play was even higher because four players had been kicked off the team after a burglary incident. On January 15, 2014, Upshaw scored 27 points and tied a Pride record with seven

three-pointer A three-point field goal (also 3-pointer, three, or trey) is a field goal in a basketball game made from beyond the three-point line, a designated arc surrounding the basket. A successful attempt is worth three points, in contrast to the two poi ...

s in a 69–64 win over UNC-Wilmington. He led the

CAA CAA may refer to: Law * Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 of India ** Citizenship Amendment Act protests, Protests regarding the Citizenship (Amendment) Act * Copyright transfer agreement, Copyright assignment agreement, to transfer copyright to ...

in scoring at 19.8 points per game, and earned second-team All-CAA honors. His 17.3 points per game increase over his 2.5 average from 2012 to 2013 was the largest increase in Division I basketball.

Professional career

After going undrafted in the 2014 NBA draft, he passed on the option to enter the NBA Development League Draft. Instead, he signed with

Helios Suns The Helios Suns are a men's professional basketball club based in Domžale, Slovenia. The club competes in the Slovenian First League and the ABA League Second Division. They have won the national league in the 2006–07 and 2015–16 seasons. Sin ...

of the

Premier A Slovenian Basketball League The Premier A Slovenian Basketball League ( sl, 1. slovenska košarkarska liga), abbreviated as 1. SKL and known as the Liga Nova KBM due to sponsorship reasons, is the top-level professional men's basketball league in Slovenia. The league, opera ...

in September 2014. In 30 games for Helios in 2014–15, he averaged 9.8 points and 3.2 rebounds per game. In August 2015, Upshaw signed with Basket Esch of Luxembourg's

Total League The Nationale 1 Hommes, officially named the Luxembourgish Basketball League (formerly known as the Total League), is the highest men's basketball league in Luxembourg. The league's governing body is Fédération Luxembourgeoise de Basketball ( ...

for the 2015–16 season. In 27 games, he averaged 20.9 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. After deciding to enter the 2016 NBA Development League Draft, Upshaw was selected in the fourth round by the

. In 34 games for the Drive in 2016–17, he averaged 6.5 points and 3.0 rebounds per game.

Death

On March 24, 2018, Upshaw scored 11 points in the regular-season finale to earn a playoff spot for Grand Rapids in a 101–99 home win over the

Long Island Nets The Long Island Nets are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Uniondale, New York, and are affiliated with the Brooklyn Nets. The team plays its home games at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Nassau County ...

. In the game's final minute, however, he collapsed and was taken off the court at DeltaPlex Arena on a stretcher. Paramedics started

cardiopulmonary resuscitation Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency procedure consisting of chest compressions often combined with artificial ventilation in an effort to manually preserve intact brain function until further measures are taken to restore spont ...

in the ambulance, seven minutes after his collapse, and his heart did not start again until 40 minutes later in the hospital. Two days later on March 26, Upshaw died in Spectrum Hospital in

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the List of municipalities in Mi ...

, at the age of 26. The Kent County medical examiner's preliminary determination after conducting an

autopsy An autopsy (post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death or to evaluate any di ...

was that Upshaw had a

sudden cardiac death Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and possib ...

. It was later expanded to state Upshaw had "cardiac abnormalities" that his family had no prior knowledge of. Out of respect for Upshaw, the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...

delayed the first round of the 2018 playoffs, while the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at Li ...

gave him an honorary call-up to the team on March 29 for their game against the

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast D ...

. On May 30, 2018, Upshaw's parents filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

, the Detroit Pistons, the SSJ Group, who owns the Grand Rapids Drive, and the DeltaPlex Arena. Afterwards, the ''

Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, US. The Sunday edition is titled the ''Sunday Free Press''. It is sometimes referred to as the Freep (reflected in the paper's web address, www.freep.com). It primari ...

'' reported that a year earlier, he had fainted and been diagnosed with

hypertrophic cardiomyopathy Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM, or HOCM when obstructive) is a condition in which the heart becomes thickened without an obvious cause. The parts of the heart most commonly affected are the interventricular septum and the ventricles. This r ...

, which is the chief cause of heart-related deaths of young athletes in the U.S. and which, combined with over-exertion, is believed to have killed him. In July 2019, the NBA and the Detroit Pistons settled a lawsuit with Upshaw's family.

References

External links