To Play, or Not

Will Kimble says he’s praying for a miracle, and that’s what it might take for the Pepperdine junior to play college basketball again.

Kimble was the starting center for the Waves until he passed out at practice Nov. 26 and was diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a heart condition that can cause sudden death. Kimble and his family are hoping the diagnosis was incorrect and have scheduled an evaluation by another cardiologist this week.

Pepperdine coaches hope Kimble will be cleared to rejoin the team, which has struggled without the low-post presence of the 6-foot-10, 230-pounder.

But the university is adhering to a more conservative stance, releasing a statement that Kimble has a “career-ending” condition. Though Kimble reportedly approved the release, he indicated he isn’t ready to call it a career at age 20.

“I’m real optimistic,” he said of his chances of playing again. “It’s just a gut feeling.”

John Watson, Pepperdine athletic director, said the medical evidence would have to be conclusive for the school to allow Kimble back on the court.

“If it turns out that this initial diagnosis was incorrect -- invalidated -- then obviously we’ll review everything,” Watson said. “But based on what we’ve been told with the preliminary diagnosis, this is the prudent action for Will.

“We do not want to put him in harm’s way, nor do we want a young person’s enthusiasm to place him in danger.”

Watson’s caution is understandable. He was at Loyola Marymount’s Gersten Pavilion the night of March 4, 1990, when Loyola’s Hank Gathers collapsed during a basketball game and later died of myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart. Boston Celtic star Reggie Lewis died of the same condition.

Loyola’s insurance carriers eventually paid a settlement of $1.4 million to Gathers’ family.

Another $1 million was paid on behalf of Vernon Hattori, the cardiologist who had treated Gathers for his heart condition and cleared him to play.

Watson acknowledged that Kimble’s situation reminds him of Gathers’, but said that has not influenced the way Pepperdine is handling the matter.

“It’s in my mind, but it’s not the overriding concern,” Watson said. “Nor is the liability issue an overriding concern. It’s what’s right for Will Kimble.”

And if Kimble receives a second medical opinion that contradicts the initial diagnosis, clearing him to play?

“I’m not sure how we would resolve it, other than having long discussions with the family and with Will,” Watson said.

“We’re not talking about a kid who might feel pain with an arthritic knee the rest of his life. We’re talking about life and death as a potential.”

Kimble -- no relation to Bo Kimble, Gathers’ high-profile teammate at Loyola -- had never displayed any signs of having a heart problem before last month, said his mother, Irene Donley-Kimble, an obstetrician-gynecologist.

She said Will was “active in almost every sport” while growing up. He competed on a youth swim team and was a Boy Scout. He played basketball and football at San Bernardino Pacific High.

“William never complained of any kind of problem,” Donley-Kimble said. “He’s a quiet kid, but when he’s not feeling well, he lets you know.”

Kimble passed a physical before he was cleared to play for Pepperdine, but John Shearer, the school’s head trainer, said a heart condition such as the one diagnosed in Kimble would not be detected by general health screening unless a more telling sign, such as a heart murmur, were present.

“You would need an echocardiogram,” said Shearer, referring to the procedure of examining the heart through ultrasound.

A key reserve for Pepperdine last season, Kimble became a starter and played without incident in the Waves’ season-opening loss at Bradley on Nov. 22.

He was participating in a rigorous full-court press drill at practice the morning of Nov. 26 when he started to feel lightheaded. He went to sit down on the base of a basket at Firestone Fieldhouse on the Pepperdine campus in Malibu.

“Next thing you know, I was out,” Kimble said.

Teammates noticed him lying face down on the court. He quickly regained consciousness. A team manager summoned Shearer.

“I was only out five or 10 seconds,” Kimble said. “Then, after that, I just felt fine.”

Shearer asked Kimble a series of general health questions. Had he skipped breakfast that morning? Had he suffered a recent head injury? Was he taking any medication? When Kimble’s answers failed to provide any clues, Shearer decided to hold Kimble out of the rest of practice.

Shearer called Dr. Gary Green, the team physician, who arranged to have Kimble evaluated by a cardiologist.

Kimble drove himself to UCLA Medical Center, where he underwent a battery of tests, including an echocardiogram that detected hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy, a condition characterized by thickened tissue of the heart muscle that can interfere with the movement of blood as it is pumped from the left ventricle.

During strenuous exercise, “not enough blood can get to other areas of the body, including the brain, which is probably why he passed out,” Donley-Kimble said.

Kimble said the cardiologist (Dr. Antoine Hage) who treated him told him he “should never exercise again.” Donley-Kimble said Hage indicated that Kimble could perform normal physical activities but would have to undergo further testing and might need to take medication. Hage could not be reached for comment.

According to the American Heart Assn., 36% of young athletes who suffer sudden cardiac death have hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which can cause fatal arrhythmias.

Athletes have gone to great lengths to prolong their careers despite health concerns. Gathers had an irregular heartbeat that doctors were trying to control with medication. He needed further testing to find the cause of the arrhythmia, but he did not want to do it until after the basketball season.

Devard Darling tried unsuccessfully to play football for several universities after he was found to have the same sickle-cell trait that was found in his twin, Devaughn, who died after collapsing during a workout in February 2001, when they were freshmen at Florida State. Devard finally transferred to Washington State, where he is a sophomore wide receiver, after exhaustive medical tests cleared him for competition.

Donley-Kimble said that although the family is seeking a second medical opinion, they will not press for her son to play basketball if results confirm the initial tests. Kimble has scheduled an evaluation and consultation Wednesday with Dr. Robert Siegel, a cardiologist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

“We’re not going to press William or have him play again if there’s anything that shows [his condition] could possibly cause sudden death,” Donley-Kimble said.

The day after Kimble’s heart condition was diagnosed, Pepperdine Coach Paul Westphal broke the news to the team. Westphal has helped ease Kimble’s transition from player to spectator by allowing him to travel with the team and sit on the bench.

After Westphal spoke, Kimble addressed his teammates.

What he told them is, “Take nothing for granted and appreciate everything that they’ve got,” Kimble said. “Because you could lose everything in one second.

“Everything that you work for could be gone like that.”

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Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy

Pepperdine’s Will Kimble averaged 5.4 points and 3.7 rebounds a game as a reserve on last season’s 22-9 team. He started the Waves’ first game this season before being diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

* Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy results in the abnormal growth of the heart muscle cells. The wall between the heart chambers, known as the septum, may become so thickened that it blocks the flow of blood through the left ventricle. In most instances, there are no warning signs of the condition, which is most often diagnosed in young athletes.