Athlete collapses on court, dies at 16

Zamarri Doby was big, even as a baby. It might be hard to imagine a 6-foot, 5-inch-tall 16-year-old as little, but even as a child his family would laugh because his legs would hang over the end of the crib.

Doby excelled in football and basketball, so it was like any other day when he was playing for the AAU Illinois T-Wolves 16-and-under basketball team Sunday at Plainfield South High School.

The game had just gotten under way, and the team was on the court for about four minutes. They had run up and down the court two or three times when Doby suddenly collapsed, said his aunt, Sharon Doby.

Someone administered CPR, but despite the efforts, he was pronounced dead Sunday at Provena St. Joseph's Medical Center in Joliet.

The family later found that the boy they knew, who would do anything for anybody and who was known for making everyone smile and laugh, died of an enlarged heart.

"They said his heart was two times bigger than what it should have been," Sharon Doby said. "It was nothing they could catch during regular physicals."

Doby would have been a junior at Waubonsie Valley High School in the fall. He had recently obtained his driver's permit and was very excited to start driving.

"There wasn't anything he wouldn't do to help someone or go out of his way," his aunt said. She said her nephew would drop everything to come over to her house and help her with something like moving a television set or to mow his grandmother's lawn.

"He gave his all with everything he did," she said.

Doby's kind-hearted spirit and demeanor will also be missed at his high school.

"This is a tragedy for a 16-year-old to have their life taken away like that," Waubonsie Valley High School varsity basketball coach Steve Weemer said.

"The family is in mourning. … Our hearts and prayers go out to the family during this tough time," he said.

Although the pain of losing Doby is still fresh, his family wants his death to be a wake-up call for others. Without any obvious signs of heart problems, there was no way to tell that this could have happened to him, Sharon Doby said.

"We want to make sure that's it's out there, that they need to test for that kind of thing during sports physicals," she said.

In lieu of flowers, donations to a Zamari Doby fund can be made at the Orchard Road Branch of the Old Second National Bank in Aurora.

"He would want us to remember him having fun and enjoying himself," Sharon Doby said. "Keep us in your prayers."

The family hopes to announce funeral arrangements for Doby today.