MI basketball player dies after making winning shot
FENNVILLE, MI
Wes Leonard of Fennville High died Thursday night, Holland
Hospital spokeswoman Deb Patterson said. A cause of death has not
yet been determined.
Paramedics performed CPR on the 16-year-old before he was
pronounced dead at the hospital, Patterson said.
Leonard, a junior who also excelled as the quarterback of the
Blackhawks football team, was "by far the best player on that
basketball team -- outstanding athlete," said coach Mike Miller,
whose Bridgman team lost 57-55 to Fennville Thursday night.
"All of Bridgman's thoughts and prayers are going toward
Fennville right now," Miller told The Associated Press Friday
morning.
Grief counselors were on hand at the high school on Friday, the
district said.
Leonard's mother, Jocelyn, is a choir teacher at the middle and
high schools and is the director of Fennville High's production of
"How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying." A scheduled
performance of the musical was canceled for Friday, and it's
undecided whether there will be shows on Saturday and Sunday.
Chad VanHuis, a 21-year-old Fennville High graduate who once
umpired Leonard's middle school baseball games and was his camp
counselor, heard that Leonard had collapsed as he headed into work.
During his break around 1:30 a.m., VanHuis, an assembly line
worker at an auto glass factory in nearby Holland, logged on to
Facebook and learned of his friend's passing.
"I couldn't believe it," said VanHuis, who remembered opposing
baseball coaches asking to see his birth certificate, not believing
a 12-year-old could be so big and skilled.
"He was very courteous. He was the nicest kid. You'd think with
his star potential, because he's so gifted, he'd be cocky, but he
never really was that way."
On Thursday, Leonard, who earlier this season eclipsed the
1,000-point mark for his high school career, laid the ball in with
less than 30 seconds remaining. Bridgman wasn't able to score
during the ensuing trip down the court, giving Fennville a 20-0
season. Leonard fell to the ground after teammates and fans rushed
the court.
"It's tough to take in," his teammate, Shane Bale, told The
Holland Sentinel. "It's like somebody from your family, you
know?"
"Obviously, in the midst of celebration, I think 'shocking' is
exactly the word," Fennville Superintendent Dirk Weeldreyer told
the paper before an ambulance carried Leonard away from the high
school.
Leonard is the second Fennville athlete to die in 14 months.
Wrestler Nathaniel Hernandez, 14, died in January of last year
after suffering a seizure at home following his participation in a
high school wrestling match.
In an interview with the Sentinel at Tuesday's practice,
Fennville coach Ryan Klingler talked about how Leonard had a great
drive to succeed and that he saw the "bigger picture."
"That's what makes him a little different. He takes care of his
body better than probably anybody I've ever coached," Klingler
said. "Spends a lot of time on his own in the weight room. He's a
special kid."
Fennville is about 200 miles west of Detroit.