By Cameron Smith
Just as a small town in Michigan begins to recover from the tragedy of losing a favorite son, a South Texas community is beginning the grieving process after another teen basketball player died during a basketball game on Saturday.
According to the Associated Press, Roma (Texas) High junior Robert Garza collapsed during a game at an Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) tournament Saturday in Austin, falling just after taking a sip of water on the bench during a timeout. The McAllen Monitor reported that paramedics attempted to revive Garza at the scene, but failed to do so. He died approximately an hour after collapsing at Brackenridge Hospital in downtown Austin.
"During pregame warm-ups, he was dunking the ball and laughing with his teammates. Everything looked good," South Texas Hoopsters coach Arnold Martinez told The Monitor. "It's unexplainable. He got a glass of water. He high-fived [teammate] Pablo Adame and then it just happened. He collapsed."
The circumstances surrounding Garza's death are eerily familiar to those who have followed the tragedy that enveloped Fennville, Mich., after its basketball star Wes Leonard died on the court following his team's 20th victory of the season. Both Leonard -- who died of cardiac arrest from an enlarged heart -- and Garza had appeared completely healthy moments before collapsing and were unresponsive to all attempts to revive them.
