Jarvis Johnson will not be medically cleared to play

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The condition can take on greater risks as you grow and age. He will never play again and that is a good thing. Many will say he should not have been recruited at the time but the information was different.
this happened at UW with a wonderful kid and player named Latrell Fleming who went on to contribute in other significant ways and did keep his scholarship. best wishes for JJ
 

howeda7 said:
I'm sure De La Salle made him sign waivers before he played. Why is this different?
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Waivers don't totally release you from liability. Also, the U of M is ultimately a brand and if something bad happened on the court, it could negatively affect the University in the future. It sucks that he can't play, but they have to think of the big picture.
 

DeathClutch said:
Waivers don't totally release you from liability. Also, the U of M is ultimately a brand and if something bad happened on the court, it could negatively affect the University in the future. It sucks that he can't play, but they have to think of the big picture.
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I understand this. But 'local star has to transfer because U won't let him pursue his dreams' is bad for the brand too. So is an upset coach who has one more reason to leave to add to his list, if that's the story here.

Bottom line, no one would blame Jarvis if he doesn't want to play. But it should be his call, IMO. Maybe it is. But that's unclear as of now.
 

DeathClutch said:
The situation sucks but the doctor's and university have alot of responsibility in this matter. If something were to happen to Jarvis they could be held liable for it.
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You're probably right, but they shouldn't, given a personal decision made by the young man (and his family), given the information and the suggestion that he should not play by his team of physicians. But it is not fair to at least allow him to make his own choices and take his own risks.
 

Let's hear from Jarvis before we pass judgement and assess blame. Clearly he wants to be a Gopher and all of us want the same. I just want him to live a long healthy life. Basketball can still be a big part of his life even if he is never able to play again...which hopefully he will!
 


howeda7 said:
I understand this. But 'local star has to transfer because U won't let him pursue his dreams' is bad for the brand too. So is an upset coach who has one more reason to leave to add to his list, if that's the story here.

Bottom line, no one would blame Jarvis if he doesn't want to play. But it should be his call, IMO. Maybe it is. But that's unclear as of now.
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Howeda...not directed at you personally but as a Coach of kids hoops, I'm not letting a kid put his life at risk to play if doctors deem it a possibility. I'd rather be a coach devoid of talent than a family devoid of a son/brother. I respect your "my choice" stance but sometimes that needs to be overruled by common sense. No blame can be passed to the U or Pitino if they are not comfortable...I would feel the same way in their shoes. Basketball is a ****ing sport... Let's see this kid get married , have kids and maybe be the future coach of the Gophers or elsewhere.
 

Slim Tubby said:
Howeda...not directed at you personally but as a Coach of kids hoops, I'm not letting a kid put his life at risk to play if doctors deem it a possibility. I'd rather be a coach devoid of talent than a family devoid of a son/brother. I respect your "my choice" stance but sometimes that needs to be overruled by common sense. No blame can be passed to the U or Pitino if they are not comfortable...I would feel the same way in their shoes. Basketball is a ****ing sport... Let's see this kid get married , have kids and maybe be the future coach of the Gophers or elsewhere.
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I understand what you're saying. But by that implication, the DLS coach is heartless for letting him play. Again, unless something has changed, I don't see how the 180 happens. If it was truly a high degree of grave danger, I don't believe DLS would have let him play either. I don't see how the risk suddenly increases because it's a different league. The decision should remain with him if nothing's different than the last 4 years.
 

This news has to be devastating to Jarvis, who has put so much effort into playing this game at an elite level. To have your dreams and aspirations blocked is a challenge to any of us and especially to a teenager. My prayers are for Jarvis to find the good in what looks so terribly bad for him. Life is hard and it rarely goes as we plan it. I am very glad to see that the University of Minnesota has upheld the scholarship for Jarvis. He needs our prayers and our support. He needs our encouragement to find a positive pathway for his future. His ability to do great things with his life has not changed; only the avenue by which he accomplishes those great things has been altered. May God bless Jarvis on the path that lies ahead.
 

Two words. Hank Gathers.

I never want to see anything like that happen again.

The U has world class doctors. I'll trust that they're making the best decision relevant to Jarvis' condition. The impact their decision has on the Gopher basketball program and/or Richard Pitino's career path? Unimportant.

Best of luck to the young man. I hope he lives a long and productive life, whether that includes playing basketball or not. His life is just getting started.

Slim and Tiny both said it well. Prayers and best wishes to him.
 



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howeda7 said:
I understand what you're saying. But by that implication, the DLS coach is heartless for letting him play. Again, unless something has changed, I don't see how the 180 happens. If it was truly a high degree of grave danger, I don't believe DLS would have let him play either. I don't see how the risk suddenly increases because it's a different league. The decision should remain with him if nothing's different than the last 4 years.
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This can be a progressive disease where the thicker the ventricle gets the greater the risk for SCD as well as additional arrhythmias such as a-fib. This would then require him to be on blood thinners to minimize stroke risk, etc. The condition changes and progresses and it very easily could have done that over the course of the last year. Pitino and the university would never live down letting a player potentially die on the court because they went against medical recommendations.
 

tinyarch said:
This news has to be devastating to Jarvis, who has put so much effort into playing this game at an elite level. To have your dreams and aspirations blocked is a challenge to any of us and especially to a teenager. My prayers are for Jarvis to find the good in what looks so terribly bad for him. Life is hard and it rarely goes as we plan it. I am very glad to see that the University of Minnesota has upheld the scholarship for Jarvis. He needs our prayers and our support. He needs our encouragement to find a positive pathway for his future. His ability to do great things with his life has not changed; only the avenue by which he accomplishes those great things has been altered. May God bless Jarvis on the path that lies ahead.
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Nicely said.
 

Poor kid, lots of tears have probably been shed going through this process. So much time and effort to get that close to a dream and then have it taken away. Reminds me of Moonlight Graham in Field of Dreams. Here's hoping Jarvis can find something rewarding which will fill his life as fully as the movie character.

"If I' only gotten to be a doctor for a moment, that would have been a tragedy!" - Burt Lancaster as "Doc" Graham

As for legal issues, things may well have been different in HS if he had attended a public school. Private schools have different sets of bylaws with regards to what they will and won't allow. There may well be a private college willing to take Jarvis on and accept the risk. Much harder to get through the wickets of decision makers at a state funded school and take on a potential litigation risk. Private schools have much less levels and don't go all the way back to the taxpayers.
 



howeda7 said:
So is an upset coach who has one more reason to leave to add to his list, if that's the story here.
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Why the heck would Pitino be upset? The athletic medical staff examines and clears every single recruit on entry to the University. This is the same place they found Sam Maresh's heart condition. Why would a coach be angry with the doctors? If they say the kid shouldn't play, then you have to trust their medical opinion. I don't know any better, nor does Pitino or any other coach. He can be upset things didn't work out, which we all agree sucks, but there is no reason to be upset with the U or the medical staff.
 

Sparlimb said:
Why the heck would Pitino be upset? The athletic medical staff examines and clears every single recruit on entry to the University. This is the same place they found Sam Maresh's heart condition. Why would a coach be angry with the doctors? If they say the kid shouldn't play, then you have to trust their medical opinion. I don't know any better, nor does Pitino or any other coach. He can be upset things didn't work out, which we all agree sucks, but there is no reason to be upset with the U or the medical staff.
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In the event there is disagreement between Jarvis's doctors and the U's, etc. Hopefully everyone is on the same page and doing what is best for Jarvis. That is all that really matters. But there's a lot we don't know about this decision making process and will probably never find out. It is what it is. I wish him the best of luck in whatever comes next.
 

leaves ten players for the coming year? any more attrition and the coming season could get very interesting.
 

The Eligible-to-Play Roster

Came up with 12 guys eligible to play in 2015-16. Not sure what Haugh's status is.

1. Buggs
2. Diedhiou
3. Dorsey
4. Gilbert
5. King
6. Konate
7. Lukashewich (walk-on)
8. Mason
9. McBrayer
10. Morris
11. Murphy
12. Sharp (walk-on)

Haugh (walk-on)?

Are there any Dave Winfields in the intramural program?
 

SelectionSunday said:
Came up with 12 guys eligible to play in 2015-16. Not sure what Haugh's status is.

1. Buggs
2. Diedhiou
3. Dorsey
4. Gilbert
5. King
6. Konate
7. Lukashewich (walk-on)
8. Mason
9. McBrayer
10. Morris
11. Murphy
12. Sharp (walk-on)

Haugh (walk-on)?

Are there any Dave Winfields in the intramural program?
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There has been so much movement I can't keep track anymore.
Lost Jarvis - that's one
Lynch - has to sit out, that's two
#13 - who am I missing?
 



SelectionSunday said:
Came up with 12 guys eligible to play in 2015-16. Not sure what Haugh's status is.

1. Buggs
2. Diedhiou
3. Dorsey
4. Gilbert
5. King
6. Konate
7. Lukashewich (walk-on)
8. Mason
9. McBrayer
10. Morris
11. Murphy
12. Sharp (walk-on)

Haugh (walk-on)?

Are there any Dave Winfields in the intramural program?
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I don't know about intramurals, but the football team has some pretty good basketball players, guys that had D1 offers.

Sharp was supposed to be a pretty good pickup as a walk-on guard, and seems fair to guess he'll see some non-garbage time this year.
 

Maroon92 said:
I haven't seen this mentioned or heard any quotes from JJ but want to throw this out there. Who is to say he won't have a heart issue no matter what he does in life-- pick up ball, coaching his kids some day, taking a jog etc. How then can a university dictate what this young man can do for a living. I have never seen him play so I don't know if he has what it takes to possible play basketball as a career. However for a govt entity telling him that he can't play vs telling him and his family the risk and letting them decide should be the red flag for everyone. He has played from what I can tell 4-5 years of competitive basketball without any issues and would assume his dream was to play pro ball. For those that say he has a free education that is fine-- but that might not be his dream and I hate that some other person tells him he can't play. I hope if he wants to continue his career he finds a way possible either overseas and another school. If he is fine getting his degree and not playing any longer good for him. However I am assuming he has understood the risks since 8th grade and if he was going to quit that would have been the time. Maybe the Libertarian in me is not seeing some facts but this is a free country and hope he doesn't have all his doors shut on his dreams-- good luck to him
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And if he had a heart attack on the court, the school would be blasted for letting him play when he has a serious heart condition and there would be a column the next day saying "No one who buys a ticket to Williams Arena should be rewarded with the sight of a basketball player suffering a heart attack"
 

And this is where it gets problematic ...


@DWolfsonKSTP
Have the 'U' doctors clear him, which could be tough w/ the insurance angle. Told Jarvis' own Dr. has cleared him. https://t.co/r6AUPXLuWq
 

joshvanklomp said:
And if he had a heart attack on the court, the school would be blasted for letting him play when he has a serious heart condition and there would be a column the next day saying "No one who buys a ticket to Williams Arena should be rewarded with the sight of a basketball player suffering a heart attack"
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If this is the position of the school, they never should have recruited him in the first place. This issue didn't happen yesterday or 6 months ago. We recruited him knowing full well his situation and now we're telling him he can't play. If that's his choice, fine. But it's looking more and more like it's not.
 

howeda7 said:
If this is the position of the school, they never should have recruited him in the first place. This issue didn't happen yesterday or 6 months ago. We recruited him knowing full well his situation and now we're telling him he can't play. If that's his choice, fine. But it's looking more and more like it's not.
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I doubt that a university can subject an individual who is not enrolled to a medical screening.

It's unfortunate, but I get it. Let's not assign blame for the differing assessment of risk from the two sides.


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bc2211 said:
I doubt that a university can subject an individual who is not enrolled to a medical screening. It's unfortunate, but I get it. Let's not assign blame for the differing assessment of risk from the two sides. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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It does feel a little weird a school who's football coach suffers from epilepsy is not allowing a basketball player with a heart condition. I mean, can you imagine the outrage if Kill's doctors said he was fine to coach and the U told him no?

At the end of the day, I hope whatever is best for Jarvis happens. But if he wants to play and his doctor says he's fine to play. I can't see how anyone on that side is happy about it.
 

scher215 said:
It does feel a little weird a school who's football coach suffers from epilepsy is not allowing a basketball player with a heart condition. I mean, can you imagine the outrage if Kill's doctors said he was fine to coach and the U told him no?

At the end of the day, I hope whatever is best for Jarvis happens. But if he wants to play and his doctor says he's fine to play. I can't see how anyone on that side is happy about it.[/QUOTE]

They aren't. And Richard evidently "missed" the meeting.

http://www.startribune.com/jarvis-johnson-surprised-by-gophers-decision-family-says/307718311/
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jamiche said:
scher215 said:
It does feel a little weird a school who's football coach suffers from epilepsy is not allowing a basketball player with a heart condition. I mean, can you imagine the outrage if Kill's doctors said he was fine to coach and the U told him no?

At the end of the day, I hope whatever is best for Jarvis happens. But if he wants to play and his doctor says he's fine to play. I can't see how anyone on that side is happy about it.[/QUOTE]

They aren't. And Richard evidently "missed" the meeting.

http://www.startribune.com/jarvis-johnson-surprised-by-gophers-decision-family-says/307718311/
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Just saw that. We don't know the whole story but this looks horrible.
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