24 Marvin Stone

2001-02: (Kicked off team after failing to return from holiday break)

Transferred to Louisville halfway through Junior Season.

Obituary – Stone Dies in Overseas Game, Huntsville (AL) Times (April 2, 2008) by Mike Easterling

Prep All-American led Grissom to state title in 1999

Marvin “Tree” Stone, a 6-foot-10 center who was named the state’s Mr. Basketball after leading Grissom High School to the Class 6A championship in 1999, has died of an apparent heart attack.

Stone, 26, fell ill during a semifinal game Tuesday night while playing for Ittihad Jeddah in Saudi Arabia’s professional Elite Cup, according to eurobasket.com. He was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.

“It’s terrible. It’s awful,” former Grissom and current Guntersville coach Ronnie Stapler said. “Life’s so precious.”

Stone was among the nation’s highest-rated post players in his class throughout high school.

He was named All-America by Parade and McDonald’s as a senior. He was also selected to USA Today’s Super 25 team and played for the USA Junior National Team.

He signed with Kentucky, but left the Wildcats after 2-1/2 seasons. After sitting out a year, he finished his eligibility at Louisville under coach Rick Pitino.

“It really saddens all of us at U of L to see a young man like Marvin lose his life at such a young age,” Louisville coach Rick Pitino said in a statement. “Our deepest sympathies go out to the Stone family.”

Stone’s father, Marvin Stone Sr., died of a heart attack in 1999 at age 47. One of his four sisters, Ontina Stone Davila, died in 2001 during a heart operation. She was 32.

Stone was drafted in 2003 by the Dodge City Legend of the USBL as the 19th overall pick, but never played for the team.

After a stint in the Reebok Summer Pro League for the Washington Wizards, he went to Italy in September 2003 to play but was released after failing a physical. He signed and played with Paris Basket Racing two months later.

He continued to play overseas, counting Greece, Spain and Germany among his stops. He was with Omonia Nicosia in Cyprus until completing its most recent season, signed with Ittihad Jeddah for the playoffs and was only with the team a few days before his death.

Stone leaves behind a 5-year-old son, his mother Lois, and three sisters.

“For the Stones, there’s been a lot of tragedy in a short amount of time,” Stapler said. “(Lois) has had a lot to deal with.”