JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (April 1) - Former Kentucky and Louisville basketball player Marvin Stone died Tuesday after collapsing during halftime of a game in Saudi Arabia. He was 26.Louisville spokesman Kenny Klein said Stone died of an apparent heart attack. Stone had signed a contract with Ittihad Jeddah earlier in the week and was playing in the team's Elite Cup semifinal game when he fell ill.
Stone's agent, Hirant Manakian, said Stone was pronounced dead at a hospital.
Stone was a McDonald's All-American at Grissom High in Huntsville, Ala., where he was named Mr. Basketball in 1999. He spent three seasons at Kentucky before transferring to Louisville, where he averaged 10.3 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.5 blocked shots during his senior year in 2002-03.
"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 decision to leave the Wildcats and transfer to the rival Cardinals was initially met with resistance by then-Kentucky coach Tubby Smith. Stone enlisted attorney Behrouz Rahmati to help fight for the transfer until Smith relented and granted Stone a release.
"I vividly remember it was a very difficult process for both Marvin and his mother," said Rahmati. "But what I recall about Marvin was that he remained strong through the process and obviously hopeful. He just wanted to play basketball and he's the kind of guy, even if he wasn't able to transfer or we were not able to get the release, he would have stayed at Kentucky and played his heart out."
Stone played professionally overseas and had recently completed the season with a team in Cyprus before signing a short-term contract with Ittihad Jeddah according to Manakian.
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