End of basketball dream doesn’t deter Livingstone College grad

Mark Thomas is the first recipient from a historically black college or university named an NCAA Today’s Top Ten winner.  The 2014 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association Player of the Year is a business administration major and graduated with a 3.7 GPA.

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina -- When Livingstone captured its first CIAA title in March, Mark Thomas couldn’t have been happier. The historic victory helped erase the sting of losing the title game the year before to Bowie State.

During the championship win over Winston-Salem State University, Thomas scored a game high 23 points and earned MVP honors for his efforts. Two months later after graduating summa cum laude, he set his sights on a professional basketball career. If he couldn’t play in the NBA, he at least hoped for a shot at playing overseas.

But in July after passing out during a pickup game and being rushed to a Charlotte hospital, Thomas received some grim news: He suffers from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. He can no longer play basketball.

“I’m not sure how I felt when the doctor told me the news,” said Thomas, who recently underwent surgery to be fitted for a defibrillator. “The whole time I still thought I was going to be able to play basketball.”

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