February 9, 2017 marked two weeks since Keita Bates-Diop — the Wolves’ second round selection from last Thursday’s draft — had surgery to address a stress fracture in his ailing left leg. The procedure put an end to his third season at Ohio State University after just nine, injury-riddled games. But on that cold, Thursday afternoon, something happened that was bigger than sports.
Keita’s brother, Kai, suffered a sudden cardiac arrest during basketball practice at University High school in his family’s hometown of Normal, Illinois. He collapsed on the floor, surrounded by teammates, and had no pulse for several minutes before being revived by a heroic athletic trainer.