Isaiah Austin's Basketball Career is Over

[kAzE]

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on-basketball/24594488/isaiah-austin-diagnosed-with-marfan-syndrome-basketball-career-over

Really sad story about a guy who many believed would be one of the top prospects in the country after coming out of high school. It's even more of a bummer, because even without the medical condition, he was already playing from behind, with the detached retina in his right eye. I didn't even know that he was blind in one eye, it's incredible that he managed to score 12 points a game in a high major conference with such a huge handicap. Props to him, and I hope he succeeds in whatever career he decides to pursue outside of basketball.

[mattman91]

A damn shame. I was really rooting for this guy. I hope he finds success and happiness off the court

[kAzE]

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=espn:11119441

That's so rough . . . it's such a cruel fate for a guy who was so close to his dreams.

[Skitzle]

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=espn:11119441

That's so rough . . . it's such a cruel fate for a guy who was so close to his dreams.

Very rough. It does raise a question though.

From what I've heard about Marfan's people who have it SHOULD NOT be doing lots of physical activity as it puts serious stress on the elongated and weak bones and connective tissue.

As a result it's super risky to play basketball with this disease.

Did they only JUST realize that he had Marfan's, or were they just hoping he could play through it?

Thanks for the help any doctors or people in the know...

[Bluedog]

Very rough. It does raise a question though.

From what I've heard about Marfan's people who have it SHOULD NOT be doing lots of physical activity as it puts serious stress on the elongated and weak bones and connective tissue.

As a result it's super risky to play basketball with this disease.

Did they only JUST realize that he had Marfan's, or were they just hoping he could play through it?

Thanks for the help any doctors or people in the know...

Yes, they just discovered it. Somewhat hard to believe it hadn't come up sooner in his life and it wasn't until his NBA physical that this question was raised. Baylor can be sketchy with some of the things they do, but not so sketchy to play somebody knowingly with Marfan's. ;) Really unfortunate for Austin....feel bad for the kid.

[johnb]

Yes, they just discovered it. Somewhat hard to believe it hadn't come up sooner in his life and it wasn't until his NBA physical that this question was raised. Baylor can be sketchy with some of the things they do, but not so sketchy to play somebody knowingly with Marfan's. ;) Really unfortunate for Austin....feel bad for the kid.

People with Marfan's tend to be tall, thin, and loose limbed.

basketball players have an increased risk.

People with Marfan's also have a greatly elevated risk of detached retinas and other eye problems to the point that 50% of people with Marfan's are diagnosed by an ophthalmologist (http://www.ima.org.il/FilesUpload/IMAJ/0/42/21399.pdf).

It strikes me that if a 7 foot tall basketball player has a detached retina has a teenager, an evaluation for Marfan's should be automatic. Baylor probably should have checked, and, despite the history of that program, I'll hope that they just didn't think to look for a fairly rare disorder--though, akin to Roy Williams and Carolina, if my job and those of many of my colleagues were dependent on a dozen college students, and really dependent only on a handful of the dozen, I'd be fairly obsessed with their health and education.

[Turk]

And you also need to consider the athlete's mentality; most athletes will want to play even in spite of seriously adverse medical conditions. First person I thought of was Hank Gathers, even though he didn't have Marfan's. (Didn't know Erik Spoelstra was on the opposing team when Gathers died).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hank_Gathers#Heart_condition_and_death

[Skitzle]

Yea, but NBA teams look for that stuff which is why it came to a head before the draft.

Just a shame...

[kkwst2]

And you also need to consider the athlete's mentality; most athletes will want to play even in spite of seriously adverse medical conditions. First person I thought of was Hank Gathers, even though he didn't have Marfan's. (Didn't know Erik Spoelstra was on the opposing team when Gathers died).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hank_Gathers#Heart_condition_and_death

Yes, that was my recollection that Gathers had hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, not Marfan as suggested by JD in the article.

There's a guy in the UK that designed a custom wrap of the aorta (3D-printed I think, or at least modeled from 3D MRI data) that is supposed to prevent aneurysm formation but taking the stress off the aorta. There is a Ted talk on it. Pretty cool.

But nobody would clear a competitive athlete to play though since it is almost impossible to determine how this would modify the risk without decades of experience.

[kkwst2]

Yes, that was my recollection that Gathers had hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, not Marfan as suggested by JD in the article.

There's a guy in the UK that designed a custom wrap of the aorta (3D-printed I think, or at least modeled from 3D MRI data) that is supposed to prevent aneurysm formation but taking the stress off the aorta. There is a Ted talk on it. Pretty cool.

But nobody would clear a competitive athlete to play though since it is almost impossible to determine how this would modify the risk without decades of experience.

http://www.ted.com/talks/tal_golesworthy_how_i_repaired_my_own_heart

Here is the TED talk for anyone interested who hasn't seen it. Pretty good stuff.

[Henderson]

Reports now are that Austin has a $1M insurance policy that should cover this. Good for him. Hope the insurance company pays out.

http://espn.go.com/nba/draft2014/story/_/id/11125572/former-baylor-bears-star-isaiah-austin-1-million-insurance-policy

[fuse]

Austin's epononymous website (http://isaiah-austin.com) is selling via pre-order some pretty cool t-shirts. I wanted to get one for my son but no XL and no long sizes.

[brevity]

Austin's epononymous website (http://isaiah-austin.com) is selling via pre-order some pretty cool t-shirts. I wanted to get one for my son but no XL and no long sizes.

I was about to point out a painful irony there, but it looks like XL and XXL are just as available for order as other sizes. (True, no LT or XLT. They are uncommon sizes, but maybe should be included under the circumstances?)

[Dr. Rosenrosen]

Poignant moment at the draft. Impressed they did that for him.

[Henderson]

Poignant moment at the draft. Impressed they did that for him.

Adam Silver is off to a very good start as commish. He's whatever the opposite of tone-deaf is. And I'm not referencing his ears. During ESPN's live feed, there were lots of tweets making the point that his treatment of Isaiah Austin was greatly appreciated.

But how tall is he? After so many years of David Stern shaking hands while staring into draftee belly-buttons, it's nice to see a commish whose arm is in a natural position shaking hands with the guys. 6-6?

[Newton_14]

Adam Silver is off to a very good start as commish. He's whatever the opposite of tone-deaf is. And I'm not referencing his ears. During ESPN's live feed, there were lots of tweets making the point that his treatment of Isaiah Austin was greatly appreciated.

But how tall is he? After so many years of David Stern shaking hands while staring into draftee belly-buttons, it's nice to see a commish whose arm is in a natural position shaking hands with the guys. 6-6?

Absolutely agree. Between how he handled the Sterling situation quickly and decisively, and the handling of the Austin situation, Silver won me over quickly. The guy is super smart, but also blessed with a lot of common sense. He is going to have a great career as a commish.

[Reilly]

Adam Silver...'s whatever the opposite of tone-deaf is ...

Astute.

[sagegrouse]

Astute.

Empathetic?