Vols' F Negedu stays in hospital for more tests

Sep 29, 2009 - 10:24 PM By BETH RUCKER Associated Press Writer

KNOXVILLE, Tenn.(AP) -- Tennessee forward Emmanuel Negedu will remain hospitalized overnight Tuesday as doctors continue to test and observe him after he collapsed following a workout.

The 6-foot-7, 218-pound sophomore from Kaduna, Nigeria, collapsed in the Volunteers' weight room and was taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center on Monday afternoon.

The Knoxville News Sentinel reported that Negedu was without a pulse when he collapsed and team trainers Chad Newman and Jason McVeigh revived him with a defibrillator within minutes. Tennessee officials would not confirm that Negedu's heart had stopped beating.

"I feel good," Negedu said in a statement released by Tennessee. "It means a lot that everyone has asked about me and that people are praying for me. It's good to be a part of the Tennessee family."

Negedu was alert when an ambulance arrived to transport him to UT Medical Center.

Coach Bruce Pearl said on a Tuesday program on WNML in Knoxville that he was thankful that the incident didn't take place away from Tennessee facilities and medical staff.

"Lots of factors had to happen for God to do his work, and we thank God for the blessing of his work and the blessing of (Newman and McVeigh)," Pearl said on the radio program. "Everyone responded extremely professionally, and Emmanuel has responded as well."

Pearl was out of town Tuesday afternoon.

As a freshman, Negedu played in 33 games, averaging 7.2 minutes, 1.9 rebounds and 1.7 points per game.

In addition to regular physicals, Tennessee performs echocardiograms on all athletes to search for evidence of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a condition blamed for the sudden death or more than a hundred athletes each year.