For a team that has only 1 NCAA Tournament appearance in program history, the IUPUI Jaguars thought they finally had a star in the making in top tier recruit Steven Jamison, who could help make them perennial Summit League contenders and earn some national respect for their hoops program. But unfortunately for Jamison’s family and the university, the promising recruit passed away this week, after losing a rather sudden and swift moving battle with rectal cancer.
Jamison, a 6‘6 guard, playing at Broad Ripple HS in Indiana, started to generate some Division I interest during his sophomore season when he averaged an impressive 16 points and 12 rebounds per contest. As is usually the case with local talent, Ron Hunter, the longtime IUPUI head coach in nearby Indianapolis, swooped in and got a commitment from Jamison over other bigger schools like Iowa and Indiana, to play for his mid-major program upon completion of high school. Everything looked good on all fronts as Jamison would get to live out his dream of playing Division I basketball while IUPUI could possibly have a star in the making if Jamison continues to develop.
But as it turned out, things aren’t always as they seem since during his junior season, Jamison was having a tough time competing with teammates the day after games. Upon the urging of a team trainer, Jamison reluctantly sought out the opinion of his family doctor. To the shock and amazement of everyone, Jamison was diagnosed with full blown rectal cancer. Even with the condition, he still pressed on and continued to play basketball for Broad Ripple until January 19th of this year, when the bad days began to outnumber the good ones.
For as long as he could, Jamison kept the illness a secret until it got the best of him. He was intent on beating the disease and only his family and close friends were fully aware of the extent of the disease. As recently as this past June, he even took a trip with his high school teammates to the prestigious Ohio State University for a hoops camp.
During the month of July the cancer had begun to spread to Jamison’s lymph nodes as his health went downhill rather quickly and reportedly weighed only 105 lbs when admitted into the hospital. With family and coach Hunter nearby, Jamison succumbed to the disease last Friday, putting un unfair end to a once promising beginning to a great collegiate career.
Jamison was attempting to follow in the footsteps of Broad Ripple HS and IUPUI alumni George Hill, who currently is one of the rising young stars in the NBA, while playing with the San Antonio Spurs. In a classy move, and even though Jamison will never get to fulfill his dream of playing college basketball, IUPUI will make him an honorary Jaguar and plans to give his family a home jersey with Jamison’s name on the back.
Source: Indystar.com
Allen Moll has been a lifelong NBA and NCAA College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously, and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. Allen also provides content to Bleacherreport.com, Upperdeckblog.com, in addition to being a tenured NBA and NCAA columnist for TheHoopDoctors.com.
