Pearl gives thanks that Negedu doing well

Tennessee men’s basketball coach Bruce Pearl said he thanks God that the cardiac event suffered by sophomore forward Emmanuel Negedu did not have a tragic ending.

Negedu, a 6-foot-7, 219-pound native Nigerian, collapsed without warning on the indoor football field while exiting the Neyland-Thompson Sports Complex after a light weight room workout and a short sprint with a teammate Monday afternoon.

UT trainers Chad Newman and Jason McVeigh revived the 20-year-old Negedu with a defibrillator within minutes after his heart stopped beating. He regained consciousness before emergency medical technicians arrived and transported him by ambulance to the UT Medical Center.

Negedu was held over Monday and Tuesday night and continued to undergo a battery of tests as doctors work to determine what caused the event and determine the appropriate course of action.

“If the incident takes place not within the reach of the training room...,’’ Pearl said on Tuesday’s Sports Page radio show,. “Lots of factors had to happen for God to do his work, and we thank God for the blessing of his work and the blessing of (Newman and McVeigh).

“Everyone responded extremely professionally, and Emmanuel has responded as well.’’

Negedu released a statement through University of Tennessee on Tuesday night.

“I feel good,” he said. “It means a lot that everyone has asked about me and that people are praying for me. It’s good to be a part of the Tennessee family.”

Key members of that family were quick to come to Negedu’s aid Monday afternoon.

Vols’ graduate assistant coach Dustin Edwards and strength and conditioning coach Troy Wills also rushed to Negedu’s aid when a teammate screamed out across the facility for help.

At first the players thought the always jovial “E-Man,’’ as they call him, might be kidding around. He had been laughing seconds before and hadn’t exhibited symptoms that would indicate pending peril.

The terrifying moments that followed left the Vols’ basketball players who were present wide-eyed and confused.

“Emmanuel had an incident yesterday that was scary, our staff was on the spot, and he survived the incident,’’ Pearl said. “I’m not going to get specific with what it was — when we finish with testing and have a dialog with doctors, we may be able to talk about it.

“He’s not at risk, and he’s in very good hands.’’

UT associate head coach Tony Jones stayed at the hospital until midnight and assistant coach Steve Forbes stayed overnight. Pearl and his wife, Brandy, also stayed late and went back to the hospital early Tuesday morning.

Pearl said Negedu’s greatest fears were not for his own safety but the well-being of his family in Nigeria.

“When I got to the hospital and saw Emmanuel, his No. 1 concern and the first thing out of his mouth was about his family,’’ Pearl said. “He said his family could not afford to lose him. His family was counting on him to come to this country to get his degree and play basketball.’’

Negedu’s family last visited Knoxville in the summer, and Pearl said he does not anticipate Negedu’s family is in position to come at this time.

He has said in prior interviews that he comes from a poor financial background in Kaduna, Nigeria.

A soccer player throughout his childhood, Negedu didn’t begin playing organized basketball until he was 15 years old. He was discovered at the NBA-sponsored “Basketball Without Borders” camp in Africa and received a scholarship to the Brewster Academy in New Hampshire.

Negedu, the 40th overall rated player in the Class of 2008 by Rivals.com, originally committed to Arizona before changing his direction and signing with the Vols after a spirited recruiting battle with Memphis.

He enrolled at UT the second term of summer school in 2008. He quickly won over teammates and fans with his deeply accented voice, wide smile, tales of life in Africa and astounding athletic feats.

Despite his size, Negedu ran the 40-yard dash in under 4.4 seconds and had a vertical leap of 40 inches. Often times after practice he would bounce the ball off his back foot or head and go up and dunk it in true Globetrotter-esque form.

The combination of his lack of experience and the Vols’ depth on the front line prevented Negedu from playing more minutes last season, but he was challenging to start this season.

Pearl said that as Monday afternoon wore on, the people Negedu has touched in his brief stint in the U.S. continued to call.

“He was in the hospital laughing and carrying on; he had two cell phones and friends were all reaching out to him,’’ Pearl said. “He has a wonderful host family (in the New England area) who has stayed close to him, and there has been a ton of support.’’

Pearl said Negedu’s resiliency leaves him amazed.

“Once he got over the fear and concern that was natural after an incident like that, he’s been doing great,’’ Pearl said. “It’s one of those things where it couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy. They don’t get any better than him.

“He’s a very special young man.’’

© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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