Jim Boeheim’s eyes began to water, and then the Syracuse basketball coach politely excused himself and sought refuge in the men’s room at FDU.
Boeheim had come to the adidas ABCD camp at FDU last night to look at possible future stars for the Orangemen. But the night took a tragic turn when he learned that former Syracuse star Conrad McRae had died of a heart attack at age 29 yesterday while playing hoops.
“He was one of the greatest kids we ever had,” said an emotional Boeheim. “One of the nicest kids in Syracuse history. This just unbelievably shocking, unbelievably shocking.”
McRae, who graduated from Syracuse in 1993 after starring at Brooklyn Tech, had been playing professionally in Italy. He recently signed a free-agent contract with the Magic and was playing on the team’s summer league team in Los Angeles. He collapsed on the court. Efforts to revive him were unsuccessful.
“His whole life was coming together,” said former Tilden coach Rock Eisenberg, who knew McRae well. “He was engaged to be married on Aug. 5. He thought he had a real chance to make the team. It’s such a shame because he was as good a kid as you’d ever want to meet.”
McRae’s good-natured personality was well-known. In fact, his nickname, “McNasty,” was amusing because McRae was as sweet as they came. He also was working hard to make his NBA dream come true.
Gary Prince, who owns Prescriptive Fitness, a Brooklyn athletic club, said McRae had just worked out at the club Friday and bench pressed 300 pounds.
Prince, who is well-respected in the basketball community for his philanthropy and commitment to helping city ballplayers improve their games, said he was in the process of planning McRae’s bachelor party.
“This was the best shape Conrad had ever been in,” said Prince. “He was physical specimen. But nothing was bigger than his heart.”
As news of McRae’s death spread through FDU’s Rothman Center, many of those associated with the New York basketball scene talked of how they still had not forgotten the death of former St. John’s star Malik Sealy, who was killed in an automobile accident on May 20. Like Sealy, McRae was well-liked by teammates and opponents.
“Two of the nicest kids to ever come of the city,” said Fordham assistant coach Mike Brown. “I knew him [McRae] since he was 12. He was one of the good guys.”