Tributes Paid to Student Who Died After Collapsing During Basketball Game

Tributes have been paid to an Illinois high school student who died after collapsing during a basketball game.

Cameran Wheatley, a senior who played basketball for Bremen High School in the Chicago suburb of Midlothian, collapsed at around 9:20 p.m. last Tuesday in the middle of a game at Chicago Agricultural High School, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Wheatley was rushed to a local hospital where medics performed CPR in an effort to save his life, but they were unable to rescue him.

The Cook County medical examiner said the 17-year-old's cause of death has yet to be determined.

Following the death, Bremen High School Principal Dave Kibelkis paid tribute to Wheatley, calling him a "great young man who worked hard."

"We are extremely saddened by the loss of our student-athlete," the principal said in a statement. "He has been a great role model in every sense and he will be missed. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, teammates, friends, and all those who had the pleasure of knowing him."

"This shouldn't happen to a 17-year-old," the principal told the Tribune.

School staff notified students of Wheatley's passing the following day. The principal said students were doing their best to cope with the loss. The school drafted in additional counselors and social workers in the days following the death.

"We're trying to heal," Kibelkis said. "Our kids are doing a remarkable job of dealing with this, coping with this."

Among the students who paid tribute to their schoolmates was Joey Chicocki, who told Chicago TV station WLS: "He worked hard at basketball. I feel bad for him cause he's only 17."

Others also paid tribute to Wheatley on social media in replies to a Twitter post published by Bremen Athletics, which said, "Cameran Wheatley, forever in our hearts."

One Twitter user, Jamie Bonnema, who does PR work for Chicago schools, said: "I was so sad to hear this news. An all around great kid who will be missed by many. Keeping the Bremen Braves and Cam's family in my thoughts."

Kibelkis said the school planned to work with basketball team members and their families to do something to celebrate Wheatley and his life at the school.

One student at the school, Evan Winters, said the mood was somber following his death.

"It seemed like everybody in school is just really down," Winters told the Tribune. "Even if you didn't know him I think it still affects you."

Parents also reacted to the death of the 17-year-old, who had a clean bill of health, according to his father.

"That's tragic as I don't know what," parent Marcus Morris told WGN. "I wouldn't think anything like that would happen at a high school to anyone that young."

Another high school student also died last week after collapsing during a basketball game.

Fifteen-year-old Devonte Mumphrey, a student at Alto High School in Texas, collapsed during the second quarter of a game for reasons that have yet to be determined.