John Stewart

[KYNomad]

I was just looking at old Kentucky rosters to look for names I either barely remember or don’t remember at all. Came across the name John Stewart. A 7’0” center from Indiana. Was committed to come to Kentucky for ‘99-‘00, but died during a game during his senior year of high school. I don’t remember ever hearing this story. The article did not mention what killed him; does anyone remember the exact cause? Was he considered a top recruit?

[KCKUKFan]

I remember this well.

Tubby and UK actually honored Stewart on what would have been his senior night and gave his parents a framed jersey.

[SportsFan]

I believe he had a heart attack during a game. It was kind of surreal, but not unheard of...since Hank Gathers essentially suffered the same fate a decade earlier. In Stewart's case, though, he was a high school senior. Gathers was a college senior.

[Old School]

I think he had an undiagnosed heart condition - not the sort or heart attack we're used to from clogged arteries etc.

[Catsrock]

I recall him being a coveted recruit. Don’t remember a ranking, but was supposed to be a good one.

[Supafuzz]

Would have loved to have seen him in a UK uniform.. Kid was a baller and at a legit 7' could move good.. He'd been an all time great..

[catfaninin]

I was there. Regional championship game at Columbus North high school. Lawrence North vs Bloomington South. #1 & #2 rated teams in the state.

Stewart was referred to as the gentle giant. And he was showing it that night. Totally dominating. Bloomington South could do nothing to stop him. It happened during a time out and we really had no idea what was happening. All we could tell was that emergency personnel were doing something on the LN bench. Seemed like it went on forever, then he was put onto a stretcher and taken out.

This was before cell phones and news traveling fast so no one really knew the severity. The team had gone to the locker room. They came back out and the game resumed. Bloomington South eventually won in ot. It wasn't until the drive home that I heard on the radio that he had died. I read later that his team didn't even know until they got on the bus after the game.

I believe that the official word was that he had an enlarged heart which lead to the issue.

[KYNomad]

catfaninin, I don’t know what’s going on, but the quote feature is no longer working on my phone. That was an excellent retelling of things; I appreciate the first hand account.

So, a new adjunct to this conversation: Should high schools be responsible for more in-depth testing of athletes, extensive blood tests and a pass through in a CT or MRI machine or maybe a stress test?

[DA#23]

Link

[KYNomad]

Link

“Under Felecia’s leadership, the John Stewart Foundation has been successful in working with local hospitals to screen over 5,000 young athletes. Over 1/3 of those athletes had some form of undetected heart disease.“

Startling revelation from that charity link you just posted. Also, that charity badly needs a better writer. Also, also, would be kinda neat to see ESPN do a plug for that charity. Also, also, also, he looks like he was a true big body, not simply a tall, skinny kid. Had a build more like Cuz had as a freshman.

[KYJeff1]

I remember this well, in fact, his passing still pops into my mind on occasion. Just an awful tragedy for his family to go through.
I wish we had the chance to see him play in a UK jersey and have a l0ng career beyond UK.
Some people get dealt a tough hand and he was one of them.

RIP John.

[Fox2Monk]

I remember that well, he was a highly coveted player. Sad times and Tubby was a class act about it like always. Wish we could have seen him play and live a long life.

[Trueblujr]

catfaninin, I don’t know what’s going on, but the quote feature is no longer working on my phone. That was an excellent retelling of things; I appreciate the first hand account.

So, a new adjunct to this conversation: Should high schools be responsible for more in-depth testing of athletes, extensive blood tests and a pass through in a CT or MRI machine or maybe a stress test?

Might want to check and see if you maybe tried to quote something in another thread and forgot to hit send or didn’t cancel it. That will prevent you from quoting in other threads. I learned this the other day when it happened to me. Just something to check.

[Jrpross]

Yeah I remember that too. He wasn’t a superstar but he was a top 50-100 four star kind of recruit. Could have been really good. So sad.

[KYWILDCAT41035]

I still remember this kid such a sad thing to lose anyone but to lose a kid at such an early age when he has so much life left.