San Diego State men’s basketball senior forward Dwayne Polee II collapsed on the court and was tended to by paramedics during the first half of SDSU’s game vs UC Riverside on Monday night at Viejas Arena.
An SDSU crowd that is normally one of the loudest in the country went completely silent as paramedics ran through a series of tests, and hooked up Polee to an electrocardiogram machine.
Polee was able to regain consciousness several moments later and waved to the crowd, and fist-bumped teammates, as he left the arena in an ambulance completely responsive.
For 69-year-old SDSU coach Steve Fisher, who has been coaching college basketball since 1979, it was like nothing he had ever seen before.
“No, I have not (seen anything like that). You hope that you never do,” Fisher said post-game. “We all were right there and saw what happened. He went down and you fear for the worst when you first see him.”
Polee’s teammates were shaken up as well after seeing one of their own go down.
“It’s definitely difficult. Basketball becomes the thing that is not important anymore,” senior forward J.J. O’Brien said post-game. “Just looking out for your teammate and hoping he’s okay is what’s on your mind.”
Polee was admitted to a local hospital where according to Fisher he remained completely alert and responsive, and expects Polee to run through a battery of tests starting Tuesday.
SDSU would go on to defeat UC Riverside 61-33.
