Smallwood: Isaiah Austin braving Marfan risk to play pro

THE HEADLINE on Sunday morning from sportingnews.com read: "Isaiah Austin beats the odds, signs professional contract."

Unfortunately, we don't know if that is a good thing.

Austin is the former Baylor basketball star who was projected to be a first-round pick in 2014 before a standard physical at the NBA draft combine led to a diagnosis of Marfan syndrome. Marfan is a genetic disorder of the connective tissue that holds together cells and organs. There is no known cure.

The most serious complications involve the heart and aorta. While many people with the condition have normal life expectancy with proper treatment, complications from the disease have caused death. One such complication is aortic aneurysm.

Avoiding strenuous physical activity is advised as part of surviving with Marfan.

Austin, a 7-1 center who declared for the draft after his sophomore season at Baylor, was told he had Marfan on June 22, 2014 - four days before the draft.

Austin said he had abnormally large arteries in his heart and that there was great risk of his heart rupturing if he continued to play basketball.

On Saturday, Austin, now 23, signed a contract with Red Star Belgrade (Serbia) affiliate FMP of the Adriatic League.

His basketball dream lives again.

"After 2014 I was told this day would never come, but God is great and has been with me this whole time, so here I am!" Austin wrote on his Facebook page. "Signing my first professional basketball contract ever and I am so grateful."

On the surface, this is one of the first-feel good sports stories of the new year.

Like so many youngsters, Austin spent his life pursuing the dream to become a professional athlete. To recall the emotion he displayed when he announced those dreams were crushed because of a medical condition still is saddening.

So even if it is not in the NBA, you can't help but feel good that this young man now is getting the opportunity to pursue a career playing a game that he loves.

Still, there is no ignoring the potentially ominous other side of this story.

This is not coming back from a knee injury. Marfan syndrome is potentially fatal, and playing a sport like basketball increases the risk factor.

Basketball, halfcourt or fullcourt, is listed as an intermediate risk by the American Heart Association for those with Marfan.

You can extrapolate the danger for those trying to play basketball at a professional level.

"They said I wouldn't be able to play basketball anymore at a competitive level," Austin told ESPN before the 2014 draft. "They told me that my arteries in my heart are enlarged and that if I overwork myself and push too hard that my heart could rupture."

Perhaps the most famous athlete whose death was directly attributed to Marfan syndrome is American volleyball star Flo Hyman. Hyman died in 1986 at the age of 31 while playing professionally in Japan. An autopsy showed she had undiagnosed Marfan that led to a fatal rupture in her aorta.

Most people diagnosed with Marfan avoid the activities that could contribute to a fatality.

Austin, who started a Marfan awareness foundation, is doing the exact opposite. He does not believe he is tempting fate.

"I think what my doctor made clear to me is (that) not everyone is made the same," he said in a November interview on youtube.com with Cassy Athena of Thru Lens. "People with Marfan are not all affected the same way."

Abnormal height is among the symptoms.

"I've seen people who are 7-6 and in wheelchairs because their bodies are too weak to carry them around," he continued, "but I feel like my whole life I've been playing sports, developing my body, taking care of myself. I've been eating healthy."

Accompanying video clips show Austin working out on the court. He notes that he played basketball from his youth through two seasons at Baylor without incident.

Maybe it's just the mindset of an athlete who was about to reach the highest level only for the opportunity to be snatched away.

Playing the game can become everything, an obsession that outweighs everything.

I've talked to NFL players who have said they'd do it all again even with the studies that show their life expectancies are far shorter because of playing the game.

Austin was days away from becoming a NBA player when a doctor told him he could no longer play.

Can any athlete truly be at peace under those circumstances?

Now a doctor has told him it's OK to play again.

"I've been active," he said in the November interview. "I haven't been restricted from doing anything I've wanted to do.

"I would say my case of Marfan syndrome is very mild compared to the cases that are out there . . . My doctor told me, 'I feel you are healthy.' He's a specialist. I'm clear and I'm pursuing my dream."

All I can do is hope that Austin remains a feel-good story for 2017 and beyond.

@SmallTerp