by Bill DiFilippo / @bflip33
DJ Bowles’ career at Wichita State is over before it ever got the chance to start due to a serious heart condition.
Bowles joined the Shockers this year as a three-star recruit out of Florida and was expected to get some playing time for last year’s NCAA Tournament Cinderella.
But Bowles collapsed during practice earlier this month and required surgery to have an electrical impulse defibrillator put into his heart. Because of that, the athletic department and its medical staff decided against clearing him to play.
From Kansas.com:
WSU said it has invited Bowles to remain at the school on scholarship, but Bowles has not indicated whether he will accept the offer, assistant athletic director Larry Rankin said. If he remains at WSU, his scholarship would count against the basketball team’s total for this year but not after that.
“Our main concern is the health and well-being of D.J. for the rest of his life,” athletic director Eric Sexton said in a statement. “He is an outstanding young man from a great family who has had a very traumatic 17 days. We hope that he will stay and complete his education at Wichita State, and have extended the commitment to honor his scholarship to he and his family.”
There is no definitive word on whether or not Bowles will ever be able to play, but right now, it looks bleak.
