Kimble Resumes Play at Texas El Paso

Will Kimble, whose basketball career at Pepperdine was ended by a life-threatening heart condition two years ago, is resuming his career at Texas El Paso.

“I don’t think anybody understands how I feel or what I’ve been through,” the 6-foot-10 center told reporters in El Paso this week. “I thank God, my family and my friends. It feels good to be back on the court.”

Kimble, diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy after he passed out at a Pepperdine practice in 2002, had a defibrillator implanted in his chest 22 months ago.

The device is designed to shock his heart into a normal rhythm if it senses the onset of ventricular fibrillation, a life-threatening disorder characterized by a rapid and irregular heartbeat.

Officials at Pepperdine and more recently at UC Riverside declined to clear Kimble to play. Texas El Paso gave its approval, and the NCAA waived the typical requirement that an athlete sit out a year at his new school before playing, making him eligible immediately.

“Will came to us, and his mom [Irene Donley-Kimble] was supportive,” Texas El Paso spokesman Jeff Darby said. “We did our homework and talked to Will’s physician and UTEP’s physician and both cleared him to play.

“We talked to a lot of people and feel comfortable. I think Will and his mother understand the risks.”

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-- Robyn Norwood