James Hampton (photo via Twitter)
A skilled athlete from Charlotte, North Carolina’s AAU program, died on Saturday, May 26, at the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League game in Hampton, VA.
James Hampton, 17, collapsed on the basketball court against Nike Phamily during the second half. The Liberty Heights senior was running down the court and turned towards the referee and said “Hey ref” then fell to the floor according to Team United director Jacoby Davis. One of the medical assistants checked Hampton’s pulse after applying chest compressions, but there was no pulse.
“It’s hard to even explain,” Davis told The Charlotte Observer. “To have a kid in your program with so much life — that’s just the kind of kid he was. He was always happy. For something like this to happen, I can’t even explain it. And to have to talk to a parent not even in town and tell him that his son has died, well, that’s more devastating.”
The coach said Hampton had suffered from seizures in the past.
“He just fell down on the floor… He had seizures a year ago — and I remember [one of the Team United coaches] telling me that, ‘I saw his eyes rolling back in his head.’ I ran on the court thinking he was having a seizure. A trainer came over and said he didn’t know what was wrong. Another trainer checked his pulse. He said he didn’t have a pulse. It got crazy after that,” Davis said.
NBA Hall of Famer and former Chicago Bulls Player Scottie Pippen tweeted, “Emotional day at Nike EYBL in Virginia after the passing of James Hampton.”
Emotional day at Nike EYBL in Virginia after the passing of James Hampton. My thoughts go out to the young man’s family, friends and teammates. RIP, James. 🙏🏿 pic.twitter.com/E2fhTIHCqA
— Scottie Pippen (@ScottiePippen) May 27, 2018
The team finished their tournament on Sunday and honored Hampton.
One of the coaches Edward Joyner Jr. of Hampton University who’d been scouting Hampton as a possible Class of 2019 prospect said, “He was one of those kids who wanted to do something to better himself and his family and was trying to make the right steps to do that. And he wanted to use basketball and college.”