Nurses hurried in and out of room No. 443 at Calvary Hospital, a hospice in the Bronx, as they tried to make the newest patient comfortable last month.
His name was Tom Konchalski, and he was dying of prostate cancer. He had recently retired as editor and publisher of High School Basketball Illustrated, a witty and insightful tip sheet — always printed, never digital — for college coaches on the hunt for recruits. Many of the coaches in this year’s N.C.A.A. basketball tournament were devoted subscribers.
At 74, Konchalski, who never married, lived alone in a high-rise in Queens.