Chilling news brings back horrific memories for Saginaw dad who lost son on court

A chill ran down the back of Saginaw boys basketball coach Lou Dawkins as he read the report of the death of a Fennville High basketball player.

Dorian Styles Dawkins died June 13, 2009. He was 14 years old. He collapsed after shooting a free throw on a basketball court during a summer camp in East Lansing a day earlier. The cause of death was acute myocardial ischemia. Simply, Dawkins had a defect in his left coronary artery.

"You should never have a heart attack at that age," Dawkins said. "It's really so sad. It cuts me. You don't know."

Fennville junior Wes Leonard made a winning shot in overtime of a 57-55 victory over Bridgman on Thursday. During the postgame celebration, he collapsed with cardiac arrest, and later died at a West Michigan hospital. He was 16.

The exact cause of Leonard's death was dilated cardiomyopathy, or an enlarged heart, according to reports.

"For them to celebrate and then two seconds later …," Dawkins said. "I'm feeling for the parents ever since I read it."

Dawkins learned of Leonard's death after turning on his computer Friday morning. Dawkins doesn't need to be reminded of his son's death. Dawkins thinks about his son every hour of every day. On Friday morning, though, the memories of his son reached a new chapter.

An autopsy is expected on Leonard. Dawkins said the heart defect that caused his son's death was undetectable with an EKG or routine examinations.

"Only with an MRI could you find it," Dawkins said. "It's rare. Dorian fell into a 0.02 percentage. In regular physicals, this won't show up. The doctor who worked on Dorian said the insurance company, your family insurance, won't pay for it. It hurts. It hurts every single second."

Like Leonard, Dawkins was a star basketball player with a bright future. Many considered Dawkins, who was about to enter the ninth grade at Saginaw High, the area's best basketball player in his grade.

"Dorian never showed signs of being tired," Dawkins said. "We wish we could have seen signs."

Dawkins said his son, though, had complained to those around him of being fatigue shortly before he collapsed.

Leonard, meanwhile, apparently had flu-like symptoms recently.

"For the parents and the Fennville community all you can do now is ask questions and pray to God," Dawkins said. "I know we're still grieving."

So are others who've been in similar situations.

Detroit Kettering boys basketball coach Arvis Young remembers that first day of practice as one would a nightmare. On Nov. 13, 2007, Deandre Brown, a senior who had recently completed his final season as a football player at the school, collapsed on the basketball court and died.

Young, a head coach for 12 years, said autopsy reports revealed Brown had an enlarged heart.

"It brings back memories," Young said of the death of Leonard. "That day, it was the first day, we really weren't doing much. He was standing in line for a drill. It was a simple drill where the players would slide from the baseline to the free-throw line. There was really no exertion, not like what happened to (Leonard).

"Everything was in place. (Brown) took all the physicals."

Fennville (20-0) is scheduled to open state tournament play at 7 p.m. Wednesday in a Class C district semifinal at Lawrence.