Alonzo Mourning Retires...........

[renzo2]

Zo has retired from the NBA. He needs a kidney transplant..........

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2003/basketball/nba/11/24/mourning.health.ap/index.html

Mourning retires, will need kidney transplant

Posted: Monday November 24, 2003 2:20PM; Updated: Monday November 24, 2003 3:48PM

Alonzo Mourning had career averages were 20.3 points and 9.8 rebounds per game coming into this season.

AP

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- New Jersey Nets center Alonzo Mourning is leaving basketball again because the kidney disease he's had for three years is worsening and he needs a transplant.

The announcement Monday came just a few months after Mourning, 33, signed a four-year contract with the Nets believed to be worth $22 million. The four-time All-Star sat out all of last season and large portions of two of the last three years because of the life-threatening kidney ailment, focal glomerulosclerosis.

The team said a nationwide search is under way for a prospective donor.

"It is with great sadness that I make this announcement," Nets president Rod Thorn said. "Alonzo is a true champion and a very courageous athlete who attempted to defy the odds with his comeback to the NBA.

"Unfortunately, his medical condition will not allow him to continue his basketball career," he said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with him as he continues to fight against this disease."

Mourning was not at the team's practice Monday. It was not immediately clear whether the team will have to pay the remainder of his salary.

Dr. Gerald Appel, a kidney specialist at Columbia University Medical Center, said Mourning's kidney function has deteriorated rapidly in recent weeks.

"I, in consultation with team physicians, have concluded that it is no longer medically safe for him to play basketball," Appel said. "Although he still feels well, the chemical imbalances in his blood make it dangerous for him to play."

Focal glomerulosclerosis is a degenerative disease in which scars form within the kidney's glomeruli, or filtering units containing clusters of capillaries. It is usually associated with diabetes or with hardening of arteries within the kidneys.

The disease mainly affects adolescents, but also occurs in young and middle-aged adults. Treatment is not very effective, and most people develop end-stage kidney failure within five to 20 years of diagnosis.

It was not immediately clear whether Mourning might be able to return to the court if he undergoes a successful transplant, team officials said.

Former San Antonio Spurs player Sean Elliott contracted the same ailment and underwent a kidney transplant in 1999. He returned briefly in 2001, then retired.

Jason Kidd spoke with Mourning Sunday night, before most of his teammates knew.

"For him to come out and almost kill himself to just play the game that he loves, it just shows the kind of person 'Zo is," Kidd said. "The big person that he is, he was very soft-spoken last night. He felt that he was maybe letting me down in the sense that he came here to try and win a championship and he came here because of me."

Nets coach Byron Scott spoke with Mourning early Monday, and was still emotional afterward.

"He is a special person. He is God's gift to this Earth," Scott said. "We don't know why certain things happen, and we can't control them. From our standpoint as a coach, team and organization, we have to learn from this and understand that it goes fast, and it can be taken at any time. He played every game like it was his last game, because he never knew when it was going to happen."

Richard Jefferson, one of two teammates who teased Mourning during a practice session last week when he appeared to be sluggish, leading to a near fight between Mourning and Kenyon Martin, said the team knew Mourning would eventually need a new kidney.

"It was just a matter of time," he said. "You knew the situation he was coming into. It could have been six months or five years before he'd need a transplant, but you knew he needed one."

Martin, who made light of Mourning's kidney condition during the practice incident last week, said he feels badly about having teased Mourning and said he apologized to him shortly afterward.

"In the heat of the moment, you say things you wished you hadn't, no matter if it's basketball, or at work," Martin said. "I apologized right afterwards. It still doesn't take it back that I said it. I apologized to him, he accepted my apology, and we moved on from there."

Miami Heat president Pat Riley, Mourning's former coach, praised him after hearing of his retirement.

"It's a sad day in anyone's life when they can no longer do what they love, especially when they have no control over their situation," Riley said. "Alonzo had been the cornerstone of the Heat organization for eight years, and continues to be a role model in the Miami community. Our prayers and wishes go out to Alonzo and his family during this very difficult time. Like the warrior he is, he will fight this and prevail."

Mourning played in 12 games for the Nets this season, averaging a disappointing 8 points and 2.3 rebounds in 17.9 minutes.

His career averages were 20.3 points and 9.8 rebounds per game coming into this season.

He was in his 12th season in the NBA, having previously played for the Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat.

He also was a member of the 2000 gold medal-winning Team USA Olympic squad.

On Saturday, Mourning had a season-high 15 points, but the Nets lost 81-80 to the Toronto Raptors.

"It wasn't good enough," Mourning said afterward. "I play this game for one particular reason. I have overcome all I have overcome to come back and play this game for one reason, and that's to win.

"I didn't come back just to play well or just to be in the NBA,' he said. "I came back to win."

[rockstar69]

my prayers go out to zo. We miss him here in miami.

[meng]

Originally posted by rockstar69

my prayers go out to zo. We miss him here in miami.

same here

[saintjohn]

i remember seeing mourning on wsvn right after he decided to leave miami. he was giving an interview to promote his local charity project, but managed to go off-topic and state that he didn't owe the team or the fans anything - if the heat management wasn't willing to continue paying top dollar for an athlete that might not be able to play, then he had no reservations about moving on. he seemed a little defensive about the issue, though.

anyway, i certainly hope he gets the medical care he needs. he definitely has bigger problems now than worrying about his free throw percentage or whatever.

[xxgrooveericxx]

That sucks. Good luck to him.

[absolutv]

hmm

wonder how the contract was made..

does the nets eat the 22 mill?

[tranzwhore]

anyone got a kidney to donate to Zo?

[renzo2]

Originally posted by tranzwhore

anyone got a kidney to donate to Zo?

:eek:

Yeah right, on this board, everyone's kidney is not in optimal conditions from all that drinking.

[mdamon7278]

Never really liked basketball, my prayers and thoughts go out to Alonzo, get well brother, everyone is praying for ya man!!!

Damon 2.0

[Bling]

hopefully this kidney transplant will cure him 100% and he can get on with his life and enjoy it.