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Some really unfortunate news has come out of the UMass basketball program. Former Maryland Terrapins talent, turned assumed impact transfer, Jaylen Brantley is going to be sidelined with a heart ailment.
To be clear: This actually ends his basketball career.
UMass has a medical policy in which it administers an electrocardiogram (EKG) test as part of its initial examination of incoming athletes, which is how Brantley’s heart ailment was detected.
Jaylen Brantley has released a statement:
“While knowing my basketball career will be over, the fact that I will be able to live a healthy, normal lifestyle does give me peace of mind,” Brantley said per the release. “This has been a hard process, but I am thankful for the support and guidance of Coach McCall, the medical staff at UMass, my teammates, my mother and my family.
“It’s certainly a difficult diagnosis to receive, but there is so much I want to do in life and knowing this early will help me in the long term. I thank God that this condition was detected and may have saved my life and, for that, I will be forever grateful.”
There's good news and bad news.
The bad is that his career is over. That stinks, he probably wishes it wasn't, and of course it is easy to feel bad for him.
The good, however, is that the silver lining in this otherwise gloomy cloud is that UMass was able to catch this issue for him, allowing him to get properly treated and hopefully making as full a recovery as possible.
We wish him well.