Marion gets OK after fainting at workout

Steve Carp

Tuesday, Oct. 6, 1998 | 1 a.m.

Shawn Marion has dodged a huge bullet.

UNLV's highly touted 6-foot-7 junior forward from Vincennes (Ind.) University underwent and passed an extensive series of cardiology tests Monday after he fainted during preseason conditioning Sept. 28.

Had Marion's heart been found to be defective, he probably would have been prevented from playing basketball again. But with the good news, all Marion lost was a week's worth of conditioning and individual instruction. He had been held out of all physical activity following his taking ill on the 28th.

The incident took place on the new UNLV track as the team continued its conditioning workouts in preparation for the start of fall practice.

"Shawn's 100 percent fine," coach Bill Bayno said. "He's such a great kid and you hate to see that happen to anyone, but especially to someone like him. I just thank God everything worked out.

"Now he can catch up and get ready for the start of practice (Oct. 17)."

Marion is expected to go through some light workouts beginning Wednesday and he will be closely monitored by team trainer Dave Tomchek.

Marion could not be reached for comment Monday, but Tomchek said Marion was relieved to hear the good news.

"He was scared," Tomchek said. "He didn't know if he was going to play again, so there was a lot of anxiety going in. But he's thrilled everything worked out."

Considered to be the fastest player on this year's team, Marion had shown no ill effects during the spring and into the summer, when he was a candidate for the USA Basketball team which competed in the Goodwill Games in July. Marion was the final player cut from that team, but not because of medical or health reasons.

Vincennes assistant Matt Figger said Marion had no history of physical problems.

"Shawn got sick in a game once, but he never got dizzy," Figger said. "To my knowledge, he had zero physical problems, and we monitor our players very closely."

Marion had participated in individual workout drills for the past month. But when the team was doing its running on Sept. 28, Marion suddenly blacked out.

He immediately was sent to the hospital for cardiovascular tests as well as other tests of his vital systems. Those tests came back negative.

Monday's extensive tests, which included an EKG, heart X-rays and multiple stress tests, also came back negative.

"He had a mild episode of light-headedness but there was no problem with Shawn's heart," Tomchek said. "He's ready to go, but we'll keep a close eye on him."

Heart ailments have resulted in the death of a couple of basketball players -- Hank Gathers of Loyola Marymount and more recently, Reggie Lewis of the Boston Celtics -- while jeopardizing the career of former Notre Dame star Monty Williams, who went through extensive tests before being cleared to play.

Houston's Hakeem Olajuwon also had to sit out part of the 1997-98 season because of alleged heart problems.

Recruiting update

Things are looking good for the Rebels as their top recruits continue to maintain interest in the program.

Jason Kopono, the 6-7 swingman from Artesia High School in Lakewood, Calif., has narrowed his list of schools to four, with UNLV among them. The others are Missouri, North Carolina State and Utah.

Over the weekend, Steve Hunter, a 6-9 forward from Maywood, Ill., made his official visit to UNLV. The Rebels are battling DePaul and Illinois for Hunter, who played last summer on the Illinois Fire AAU team and currently attends Proviso East High.

And while he still hasn't made a verbal commitment, Verbum Dei's Dalron Johnson still has the Rebels high on his list. The 6-9 Johnson visited UNLV last month.

Hoop du jour

* BAYNO HOLDS COURT: The 3rd annual basketball clinic for women, better known as "Bayno Holds Court" is scheduled for 6-8 p.m. Monday in the Si Redd Room. The clinic, which will give insights into the game and Rebel basketball in particular, is free. While the program is geared toward women, men are invited as well. For more information, call 895-3295.

* TIMES SET: There was a little more fine tuning to the 1998-99 basketball schedule and now, all the times have been set. The Dec. 12 game at UCLA will tip off at 2 p.m. and the Jan. 2 game at Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo will start at 7.

* GERG TO BLAZERS: Former UNLV coach and assistant Tim Grgurich wasn't out of work long. Grgurich, who had been with the NBA Seattle SuperSonics from 1992-94 and again from 1995 until July, has moved down Interstate 5 to Portland, where he will serve on head coach Mike Dunleavy's staff with the Trail Blazers. He will be reunited with several former Rebels, including Stacey Augmon, J.R. Rider and Mark Warkentien, the latter serving as the team's director of scouting. Former UNLV assistants Ron Adams and Tates Locke are also scouts for the Blazers.