SARASOTA — Mikhail Torrance, the former Alabama basketball player who collapsed Friday during a workout at IMG Academies in Bradenton, remains in critical but stable condition, according to Sarasota Memorial Hospital spokesperson Kim Savage.
Torrance’s agent, Happy Walters, also said the following on his Twitter account: “He is stable and in an induced coma. His heart is fine. The doctors are going to bring him out of his coma tonight in order to evaluate brain function. The staff at IMG attended to him within two minutes and administered CPR. He had a heartbeat and was breathing on his own when paramedics arrived. With God’s help, there will be no brain damage.”
Torrance, a standout guard for the Crimson Tide last year, had been training at IMG on Friday, confirmed IMG spokesperson Chris Ciaccio, who also said Torrance’s family is at the hospital with him.
Savage said the family has asked the media to respect their privacy during this time.
The website NBA.fanhouse.com reported Friday that Torrance stopped breathing while paramedics worked on him, and they continued giving him CPR during the trip to Blake Medical Center.
He was later transferred to Sarasota Memorial.
The Alabama standout said earlier this month that he was diagnosed in 2009 with an enlarged heart, which he believes is the reason he was not selected in the NBA Draft in June.
Torrance signed a summer camp deal with the Miami Heat but didn’t participate in any on-court drills or summer league games during his less-than-a-week spell with the organization.
Torrance led Alabama in points (15.6 per game), assists (162) and minutes (1,043) as a senior last season.
The 21-year-old agreed to a contract with Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel to play the upcoming season overseas.
He told The Birmingham News and Mobile Press-Register earlier this summer that Alabama cleared him to play and said his heart condition was common to athletes.
AOL Fanhouse first reported Torrance’s collapse on Friday.
This isn’t the first incident involving a player with a heart condition at IMG Academies. Christian Chalita, who attended IMG Academies from 2002-04, suffered a heart attack while walking on a treadmill in ’04 that claimed the young basketball player’s life.
Ciaccio declined to comment on any changes IMG has made as a result of that incident to better treat athletes who suffer heart-related events.
“I can’t really answer as far as other incidents, but I will tell you that we were very pleased how quickly and professionally the academy staff reacted in the face of a potentially life-threatening situation or emergency,” Ciaccio said.
Jason Dill, Bradenton Herald staff writer, contributed to this report.
