The University of Minnesota (UM) will honor the athletic scholarship of a highly touted incoming men's basketball recruit that will not be able to play due to a heart condition.
Jarvis Johnson was not medically cleared to play basketball at UM, the Associated Press reported Monday. Johnson will remain part of the team and will not play this season, but his future status remains unclear.
According to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Johnson, his family and UM released a joint statement.
"While we are extremely disappointed, the health and welfare of Jarvis is our highest priority," the statement read. "We are excited that Jarvis has decided to accept his scholarship to the U and will remain a part of the basketball program. Coach Pitino and his staff are looking forward to having Jarvis on campus, where he will get an outstanding college education while supporting the team in any way he can. Jarvis has dreamed of being a part of the Gopher basketball family; and we are happy that he will be."
The Tribune previously detailed a scary incident in which Johnson collapsed during a basketball game when he was in eighth grade. His heart stopped beating for up to 10 minutes and he was later diagnosed with a rare heart condition known as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
He then had a defibrillator implanted in his chest to stop his heart muscles from thickening and constricting blood flow. He was back on the court as a high school freshman and led his team to four state titles before being recruited at UM.
"Unfortunately, Jarvis Johnson will not be playing on our team this season," Richard Pitino, the team's head coach, said in a statement. "However, we are extremely excited that he has decided to accept his scholarship and pursue his undergraduate degree here at the U, where he will also remain a part of our program. Jarvis is a tremendous young man, and we support him and look forward to having him here."
