Ex-UCR standout needs bone marrow transplant

• Dave McMenamin, ESPN Personnel WriterOct 27, 2024, 01:31 AM ET

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  • Lakers and NBA press reporter for ESPN.
  • Covered the Lakers and NBA for ESPNLosAngeles.com from 2009-14, the Cavaliers from 2014-18 for ESPN.com and the NBA for NBA.com from 2005-09.

LOS ANGELES– Kyle Owens, a previous college basketball standout at UC Riverside who played on his senior night simple hours after receiving a cancer medical diagnosis in March, is in need of a bone-marrow transplant.And parts of the Southern California basketball community, in combination with the National Marrow Donor Program( NMDP )and the Owens household are organizing a donor drive to help.” Undoubtedly I want to discover a

match for myself, but it is very important to just get more individuals to register who appear like me for other individuals out there as well,”Owens informed ESPN on Friday.Cal Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, California

, is hosting a drive Monday and UC Riverside is hosting one Wednesday, seeking volunteers in between the ages of 18 and 40 to take cheek swab tests to determine their genetic type, be added to the NMDP computer registry and become matched with a patient.”It’s difficult for African Americans to find the ideal match due to the fact that the numbers are low in regards to the donor supply that’s on hand,”Keith Owens, Kyle’s dad, told ESPN.”It’s an underrepresented part of the community.” It has actually been a hellacious year for the 24-year-old Owens, who simply seven months back was coming off a double-double versus Hawaii and heading into the last home game of UC Riverside’s season when he was called to the athletic fitness instructor’s office for a Zoom meeting with an oncologist.As a fifth-year forward, he had delighted in a successful senior season with the Highlanders, averaging 8.8 points and 5.5 rebounds, beginning 26 of 31 games and

even beating Cal State Bakersfield with a dive hook at the buzzer, a highlight that appeared on that night’s “SportsCenter.” But something felt off.” We could not find out what it was,” Tonya Owens, Kyle’s mom, told ESPN.” We could tell he didn’t have the energy that he usually had. After every game we resembled, what is it? What is it? I was like,’ I make sure you have Covid, I make sure you have the flu.'” Kyle avoided medical attention, wishing to be there for his teammates and push through whatever he was dealing with until he lastly relented as the season

neared its end.The oncologist provided a terrible diagnosis. Tests revealed Kyle had intense lymphoblastic leukemia( ALL), a kind of cancer in which the bone marrow produces a lot of leukocyte. Not to discuss, he was discovered to have the influenza and breathing syncytial infection (RSV). Owens’world was spinning and the game versus Cal State Fullerton was approaching, with his moms and dads, pals and high school coach, Russell White, making their method to Riverside, 60 miles east of

Los Angeles.” My trainer provided me the choice of playing or if I simply wanted to begin the game for senior night or wished to do images for senior night or she was like,’ You don’t have to go at all if you do not desire,'” he said.

“The type of person I am, I chose to just play the game as much as I could.” Senior night is a rite for a basketball player and frequently, for those not fortunate sufficient to play for a championship or go on to play expertly, among the biggest games of their lives.Owens, his family and the fitness instructor shared the diagnosis with UC Riverside coach Mike Magpayo and the coaching personnel however chose to keep it from his teammates, not wishing to burden them with the news so they might stay concentrated on the home finale and the Big West Conference tournament ahead. “I began the game and took the very first four or five shots,”Owens stated.”And after that wasn’t able to go back in after just playing like four or five minutes just because my body was getting fevers quickly just from overheating and overworking. “Magpayo called the very first play of

the game for the 6-foot-8 Owens. He was fouled and made one of two totally free throws. He kept shooting, ultimately making a jumper before being pulled. Owens watched from the bench as his group went on to win 84-74.” That night I drove him straight to UCLA and

he was admitted, “Tonya Owens stated.” It was sort of good to even only play a couple minutes simply to sort of take my mind off of it, “Kyle stated. “I don’t understand how I did it, and individuals to this day inform me that,’I don’t how you did that.’However that’s simply kind of who

I am.”Owens went through a month of chemotherapy, followed by 3

cycles of the immunotherapy BLINCYTO– still dealing with his organization management graduate courses throughout.” He winds up finishing his master’s in his UCLA hospital bed, “Tonya said.” And in between treatments he

goes and strolls and gets his diploma and whatever.”Things were searching for, until late September, while celebrating his younger bro’s 21st birthday in Las Vegas, he suffered a problem.

“I guess the blood looked great from what the medical professional said, and everything was good,”Tonya said.”Until he started getting a pain in the back and after that numbing in his toes and feet, which rose to his stomach, and already we knew something was incorrect.”Owens had to rush back to UCLA. Scans found a growth in the midback area, near his spine.”It was putting pressure on the spine, which caused the nerve damage to where I lost the feeling in my legs and stuff,”he said.He has remained in at a rehabilitation facility in Century City considering that, undergoing radiation and steroid treatments and retraining the legs that used to launch him airborne for dunks to simply walk again.”Now he’s looking at a bone-marrow transplant in his near future,” Keith stated.”That is the best method for him to achieve long-lasting health through this whole experience. Just go ahead, flush everything he’s got and begin again fresh.”Keith, nicknamed”The Condor,”was a former UCLA Bruin and bet the Los Angeles Lakers for one season, in 1991-92. He was on the group when Magic Johnson retired the very first time after contracting HIV. Keith saw his colleague go through that and go on to defy everyone’s expectations, and now he sees his son revealing a comparable resolve.”

He’s sort of a mill by nature, so, when given a task to work at, that’s how he runs best, “Keith said. “So, his personality’s been excellent hammering out all of it.”White, Kyle’s coach at Crespi Carmelite High School in Encino, California, now coaches at Cal Lutheran. He is spearheading the donor drive today.” It’s simply my method of something I can provide,”White informed ESPN.”I’ve got a group full of guys that want to help.” White and Owens ‘parents hope the drive catches on with other basketball groups in L.A. and in the area.”Any help is terrific,”White informed ESPN.”Let’s attempt to conserve this kid’s life, man.”