Melissa Rohlin
FOX Sports NBA Writer
Kyle Owens is bedridden in City of Hope as he battles cancer and other complications, a bewildering change for a 24-year-old whose life as an elite athlete has come to a standstill.
Seven months ago, the 6-foot-8 Owens played for the men’s basketball team at UC Riverside. Things were going well. He was the team captain. His coach will use him as an example to the candidates as someone who was willing to play the role. Last February in a game against Cal State Bakersfield, Owens even hit a home run, which landed him on “SportsCenter.”
But he was always tired. He had night sweats. He was getting chills and fever after practice and games.
His athletic trainer urged him to go to the emergency room last March for blood work. A few hours before his senior night, the oncologist told him he had acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
Owens now needs a bone marrow transplant, and he and his family are hoping people between the ages of 18-40 will have their cheek tested to see if they are a match.
“I’m looking for someone to save my life right now and help me live a happy, healthy life,” Owens said.
A patient’s chances of receiving a match from the National Donation Program vary by racial background. Black or African-Americans are listed as having a 29% chance of getting a match, compared to 79% for Caucasians, according to the NMDP. People can sign up to join the donor program here, or they can text DoITforKO to 61474.
Owens’ father, Keith, who played basketball for UCLA and played one season for the Los Angeles Lakers in 1991-92, said there are many misconceptions about what being a donor entails.
“Blood stem cell transplants are what it’s all about,” said Keith, a full-time production engineer who has worked for FOX Sports since 1996. “I don’t know what you know about bone marrow, but everything I do you’ve heard is very painful on both sides, even the person who donates to give the bone marrow, now just to see that it’s like a match, nothing but a forest swab, less invasive than a COVID test And if you donate, blood your cells are harvested to replace the bone marrow.
Those closest to Owens are trying to organize drives on college campuses for people to sign up to be hit to see if they match. There was one held at Cal Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks last Monday and another held at UC Riverside last Wednesday, where Owens’ former UC Riverside coaches and teammates all attended.
“All 15 guys, they came out with signs,” UC Riverside men’s basketball coach Mike Magpayo said. “Our school had a record of 120 new registrations or new swabs, and we were a little over 200. [total]. They set themselves a goal of 200 that day and, three hours after practice, fought their butts there. “
As the college basketball season begins, Owens and his family hope that more universities will hold similar drives that can help him and the 18,000 other patients who receive the same diagnosis each year get the same.
“There’s not a lot of people that look like me in the book, so, trying to get more people that look like me to sign up,” Owens said.
After receiving the initial diagnosis, Owens faced a series of complications, the latest of which included a scan that revealed a tumor near his spine. He lost feeling in his legs and the ability to walk, and underwent radiation and steroid treatments to shrink the tumor from 10 centimeters to 1 centimeter, according to Keith.
Owens has committed to rehabilitate himself at the Century City Rehabilitation Center and is now able to walk with a walker.
His determination is evident to everyone around him. In fact, hours after receiving the cancer diagnosis, he insisted on playing through the old night, lasting only a few minutes before needing to be discharged.
At that time, only his sports coach, coaches and family knew what was happening. He didn’t want to disturb his teammates, who were fighting for a spot in the Big West Conference championship, which they earned with an 84-74 victory over Cal State Fullerton that night. Shortly after the game, Owens went to UCLA and began treatment.
Of course, Owens’ teammates noticed something was wrong when he missed their next game against UC Santa Barbara. After their 81-64 win, Magpayo broke the news to the team in a conference room on campus.
“It was a more emotional experience than I could have imagined,” Magpayo said. “The young men are still broken. When they think and talk about it, they want him out of this fight. We all realize now how difficult this fight is going to be. He will fight legally. for his life. There were tears.
Those closest to Owens describe him as someone who lights up a room.
The news may have affected Nate Pickens, Owens’ best friend and roommate on the team.
“Just hearing about it, it really broke my heart,” said Pickens, who describes Owens as “selfless,” “caring” and “accepting.” “…He’s just someone you want to be around. Every friend group wants a guy like that.”
As a fifth-year senior, Owens averaged 8.8 points and 5.5 rebounds. And after receiving the diagnosis, he went on to complete his master’s degree in business administration at UCR while undergoing chemotherapy.
He has high hopes for the next one.
And the more people are immersed, the closer he gets to seeing them.
“If you are a match, all you need is to donate a little blood,” he said. “It’s not crazy for a donor … Just being able to live a long, happy, healthy life is just my biggest goal.”
Melissa Rohlin is an NBA writer for FOX Sports. He previously managed the Sports Illustrated league, i Los Angeles The Times, the Bay Area News Group and the San Antonio The Express-News. Follow him on Twitter @melissarohlin.
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