UW Hoops Player Unable To Compete
September 27, 2001 | Men's Basketball
Latrell Fleming, a freshman with the Badger men's basketball team, will not be able to compete at Wisconsin due to a medical condition known as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, Coach Bo Ryan announced.
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is a disorder of the heart muscle that is generally characterized by enlargement of the heart muscle and a thickening of the walls of the left ventricle.
Dr. David Bernhardt, a UW team physician, referred Fleming to cardiologists (at UW Hospitals and Clinics) who made the diagnosis.
Fleming's condition was discovered after a team conditioning workout (allowed by NCAA rules) during which he momentarily passed out. He was immediately attended to by Henry Perez-Guerra, the UW basketball team's full-time athletic trainer. Fleming was then referred to Bernhardt, who ordered the appropriate cardiac evaluations.
'Our concern right now is with Latrell's health and in getting him the medical attention he needs,' Ryan said. 'He and his family have the full support of our basketball program and our athletic department. I am very thankful that this was discovered and that Latrell will be promptly cared for. '
Fleming, a guard from Milwaukee, can remain on full scholarship for up to five years (per NCAA rules) and can also remain a part of the Badger basketball program as an undergraduate student assistant coach.
Fleming played prep basketball at Milwaukee's John Marshall High School.
Neither Fleming nor his family wish to comment on this issue at this time.
