College Basketball Player Dies After On-Court Head Injury

A junior college basketball player has died days after suffering a head injury during a game in Texas. Ethan Dietz, a 20-year-old forward for Connors State College in Oklahoma, was injured Saturday while playing against Grayson College in Denison, the BBC reports. He was taken to a local hospital. His school said he died Tuesday morning.

Dietz, who stood 6-foot-8, was in his second year at Connors State and had started the first eight games of the season, averaging 11 points and 9.4 rebounds. He was originally from Conway, Arkansas, and was described by his coaches and school officials as a hardworking athlete and a valued teammate. "The Cowboy family has suffered an unimaginable loss," the school said in a statement, per NBC News. "Ethan exemplified what it means to be a Cowboy, to value hard work and being part of a team. While the team and the Cowboy community are processing our own grief, our hearts go out to his family and friends."

Bill Muse, Connors State athletic director and men's basketball coach, called Dietz "the kind of player a coach always hopes for," noting his talent, work ethic, and character. "If you ever saw him smile, you knew he was all heart," Muse said. The school has canceled several upcoming basketball games and scheduled a campus vigil.