Sarpong Faces 2nd Test for Heart Murmur : Prep basketball: El Camino Real guard’s preseason physical revealed potentially hazardous condition.

El Camino Real High point guard Sam Sarpong, who was expected to help the Conquistadores make a run at the West Valley League basketball title, will be re-examined Friday to determine whether he has a heart murmur that could sideline him permanently.

Sarpong, a junior, said he was told by a school nurse that the testing was mandated by the Los Angeles Unified School District to prevent another “Hank Gathers-type of situation.” On March 4, 1990, Gathers, a standout at Loyola Marymount, collapsed during a basketball game and died less than two hours later. An autopsy listed the cause of death as a heart disorder.

Sarpong, who averaged 10.9 points and 4.7 assists last season, was ordered to undergo testing when a preseason physical examination revealed that he might have an abnormal heartbeat.

He is scheduled to undergo an echocardiogram Friday. If granted medical clearance, Sarpong would be eligible to play in El Camino Real’s Northwest Valley Conference opener Wednesday against Taft. Sarpong said previous tests, including an electrocardiogram, showed no irregularity.

El Camino Real has struggled without Sarpong, a 6-foot playmaker. The Conquistadores, who will play a nonleague game tonight against Belmont, are 0-2.

Junior forward Markee Brown (13.3 points, 7.3 rebounds) also was determined by doctors to have an irregular heartbeat and was not cleared to play until this week.

“We’re just terrible right now,” said 10th-year Coach Mike McNulty, who promoted a player from the junior varsity to take Sarpong’s place. “Everybody’s playing out of position. I’ve been around all these years and nobody’s ever flunked a physical, and this year it happened twice.”

Sarpong said the district has prohibited him from practicing with the team until clearance is granted. He said that when he was told that he might have a heart problem he was more than a little worried.

“When it first happened it scared me,” Sarpong said. “In the preseason I was in the best shape of my life and, then, this happened. It was weird and a little hard to believe.”