The No. 3 high school basketball player in Alabama tragically passed away on Thursday after collapsing on the court while playing the game he loved. He was just 17 years old.
Caleb White, a Pinson Valley High School senior became ill around 1:15 p.m. while training with his teammates, according to his grandfather.
According to a Facebook. post, he suddenly dropped to the ground and was rushed to the hospital, but doctors were not able to revive him.
“At 17, he was dead!!!!” Varnadoe wrote, adding that his grandson was an “honor student, very respectful, high intellect, excellent role model, phenomenal basketball player.”
Caleb White
“Our whole family was really looking forward to his upcoming senior season and afterwards, playing for a D-1 school and then perhaps the NBA. But…..it wasn’t meant to be,” the grieving grandfather added.
“You see, everything that happens, happens on time, because God wouldn’t allow it to happen, if it wasn’t on time. And so it was with Caleb. We all have an appointment with God, one that you can’t reschedule.”
Varnadoe said his grandson suffered cardiac arrest, but the Jefferson County Coroner has yet to determine a ruling,
Pinston Valley High School Principal Michael Turner announced White’s death in a note sent to parents confirming the student had suffered a “medical emergency” at school before being pronounced dead at the hospital.
Caleb was 6-feet tall, a first-team all-state player for his Pinson Valley team and was one of three finalists for Class 6A player of the year as a junior, according to the Alabama High School Athletic Association.
Not only was he a shooting guard and a point guard, but he was also set to serve as the team’s captain for his final year at the school.
Caleb was the No. 3 player in the state and No. 43 in the country, according to rankings by ESPN.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to Caleb’s family, his classmates and basketball team and extended school family,” AHSAA Director Alvin Briggs said in a statement.
“He was an outstanding student-athlete who played in the North-South All-Star Basketball Game last month. He was an outstanding student-athlete and role model.”
Please keep his family, friends and loved ones in your thoughts and prayers in addition to all his teammates. It's such a tragic loss at such a young age.
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