North Carolina high school basketball star dies during a game

A top high school basketball player from Charlotte, North Carolina, collapsed and died during a Nike Elite Youth Basketball League game in Virginia over the weekend.

James Hampton, 17, said ‘Hey Ref’ to an official before collapsing during the second half of a game on Saturday night at the Boo Williams Sports Complex in Hampton, Virginia.

Hampton, who played for Charlotte AAU’s Team United, was a Class of 2019 basketball prospect with a history of seizures.

James Hampton, 17, said ‘Hey Ref’ to an official before collapsing during the second half of a game on Saturday night at the Boo Williams Sports Complex in Hampton, Virginia

Hampton, who played for Charlotte AAU's Team United, was a Class of 2019 basketball prospect

He also had a history of seizures

Hampton, who played for Charlotte AAU’s Team United, was a Class of 2019 basketball prospect with a history of seizures

Team United's game against Nike Phamily was the team's second of the day, though Hampton did not play during the first. Pictured above, teams after the teen's death

Team United’s game against Nike Phamily was the team’s second of the day, though Hampton did not play during the first. Pictured above, teams after the teen’s death

Video courtesy: 13 News Now 

The teen was a senior at Liberty Heights Athletic Institute, a private school in Charlotte, and his team was playing against Nike Phamily, another AAU team.

Team United’s game against Nike Phamily was the team’s second of the day, though Hampton did not play during the first. Hampton’s parents weren’t at the tournament.

Shortly before collapsing, Hampton was running down the court. He looked at a referee and said ‘Hey ref’, before falling to the ground.

He appeared unconscious as medical personnel administered chest compressions before taking him away in an ambulance. 

‘He just fell down on the floor,’ Team United director Jacoby Davis told The Charlotte Observer. 

Davis added: ‘He had seizures a year ago and I remember (one of the Team United coaches) telling me that, “I saw his eyes rolling back in his head”. 

NBA Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen was at the game and tweeted out his condolences for Hampton. His son plays for another team that was in the tournament

NBA Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen was at the game and tweeted out his condolences for Hampton. His son plays for another team that was in the tournament

The Nike Elite Youth Basketball League tweeted out a message of condolences for James Hampton's family

The Nike Elite Youth Basketball League tweeted out a message of condolences for James Hampton’s family

Other teams gathered for moments of silence before their games on Sunday in honor of Hampton 

Other teams gathered for moments of silence before their games on Sunday in honor of Hampton 

‘I ran on the court thinking he was having a seizure. A trainer came over and said he didn’t know what was wrong.

‘Another trainer checked his pulse. He said he didn’t have a pulse. It got crazy after that.’

Hampton’s coaches and AAU teammates gathered at Sentara CarePlex Hospital, less than a mile from the arena. 

‘To have a kid in your program with so much life, that’s just the kind of kid he was,’ Davis told the Charlotte Observer. ‘He was always happy.

‘For something like this to happen, I can’t even explain it, and to have to talk to a parent not even in town and tell him that his son has died, well, that’s more devastating.

Team United decided to stay in Virginia and finish the tournament in Hampton’s honor.

NBA Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen was at the game and tweeted out his condolences for Hampton. His son plays for another team that was in the tournament.

Other teams gathered for moments of silence before their games in honor of Hampton.



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