Advertisement

Dwayne Polee 'back home' on the court 61 days after collapsing during game

Kyle Ringo

San Diego State forward Dwayne Polee collapsed during a December game against UC Riverside at Viejas Arena because of what was later determined to be a heart condition.

The incident left the fifth-year seniors basketball future in doubt.

But after several months of monitoring and easing back into workouts, Polee returned to the court Saturday on the road at San Jose State. He scored three points with a steal and a turnover in 13 minutes and appears ready to play out the rest of his senior season.

“It was neat to get him home,” SDSU coach Steve Fisher told utsandiego.com. “He’s back home, on the basketball floor. That’s where he’s always been, where he’s always wanted to be. In the locker room (afterward) with the team, we talked about some of the things that we didn’t do and should have done, the nuts and bolts of the game. Then I said that the most important thing about this game is that all of us should be so excited to say, ‘Welcome back, Dwayne Polee.’

“I shook his hand, and they cheered like crazy.”

Polee first resumed light workouts in January and slowly built back up to a level where he was ready for practices and games at the college game's highest level. He received clearance to play earlier in the week, but San Diego State brought a team doctor on the trip to monitor Polee throughout.

The December incident wasn't the first for Polee, the 2013-14 Mountain West Conference Sixth Man of the Year. He endured a similar incident in practice last season and underwent a medical procedure in the offseason and was cleared to play then by doctors. Polee said he felt about 90 percent of the way back after Saturday's victory.

“I’m just grateful for this opportunity to have this second chance to complete the season," Polee told utsandiego.com. "I had a lot of positive people in my corner, my family, my girlfriend, my teammates, the coaches, the whole training staff and my Bible. I just stayed positive through the whole thing, and that’s what got me through.”

- - - - - - -

[Kyle Ringo is the assistant editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at kyle.ringo@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!