Hillsman ‘all good’ after collapsing during win at Louisville
Syracuse women’s basketball head coach Quentin Hillsman was recovering at his home Sunday and in good condition after collapsing during Syracuse’s 64-58 victory over Louisville at Freedom Hall Saturday.
With 5:30 remaining, Hillsman fell to the floor next to the SU bench. The fourth-year head coach was subsequently taken to the locker room, where he was examined by Louisville team physicians. Ultimately, Hillsman was fine, attributing the collapse to dizziness. Assistant coach Rick Moody coached the Orange (16-3, 3-3 Big East) for the remainder of the game.
Reached by telephone at his home Sunday, Hillsman said he was doing ‘just fine.’
‘I sat down and I just kind of got up, and it was right during that time frame,’ Hillsman said. ‘The ball was just being inbounded, and I stood up and just kind of got off-balance there.’
Hillsman, 39, said the moment occurred just after a timeout. The Orange was nursing a comfortable nine-point lead and the two teams were coming out of the timeout when the incident transpired.
The coach attributed the incident to nothing more than ‘getting up too fast.’ Hillsman also stated that because he knew the situation wasn’t anything serious, he was able to remain calm through the ordeal.
‘I think I just got up too fast,’ Hillsman said. ‘(The doctors) said my blood probably just rushed to my head and just got me a little dizzy and a little off-balance. Nothing came of it, though. I got tests and everything. I got an EKG, got blood work, and everything came back good. When they started ruling out all the serious stuff, I was relieved.
‘I remember everything. I was fully aware of everything. That’s probably why I wasn’t as scared as I could’ve been. I was very aware of what was going on. I was very aware of my surroundings. I knew where I was. I knew what was going on.’
The coach said he expects to be back to work Monday.
‘Yes, I’ll definitely be at practice tomorrow,’ Hillsman said Sunday. ‘We have to get ready for Wednesday’s game. It’s very important to win these home conference games.’
Published on January 24, 2010 at 12:00 pm
