A Michigan high school basketball player hits the game-winning shot. Moments later he collapses from cardiac arrest and dies:

After the autopsy, when the doctor found white blossoms of scar tissue on Wes Leonard’s heart, he guessed they had been secretly building there for several months. That would mean Wes’s heart was slowly breaking throughout the Fennville Blackhawks’ 2010—11 regular season, when he led them in scoring and the team won 20 games without a loss.

It would mean his heart was already moving toward electrical meltdown in December, when he scored 26 on Decatur with that big left shoulder clearing a path to the hoop. It would mean his heart swelled and weakened all through January (25 against Hopkins, 33 against Martin) even as it pumped enough blood to fill at least 10 swimming pools.

“The Legacy of Wes Leonard.” — Thomas Lake, Sports Illustrated

More from Sports Illustrated: “The Forgotten Hero.” — Tim Layden, Nov. 7, 2011

Photo: artbystevejohnson/Flickr