All too often, college basketball and athletics in general is derided as being a place for misfit pituitary cases and nothing more. So when someone come
s along and reminds us that that's not always the case, we tend to be dismissive. But in the case of Georgia grad Alec Kessler, it was absolutely not true, and his death comes as a big shock to friends and a major loss to thousands.
Kessler, a 6-11 big man who played at Georgia, made the most out of his basketball skills, getting to the NBA for a few years, but his interest was always in medicine, and he became a fine orthopedic surgeon who remained incredibly driven, working at several places and doing double shifts, basically, for fun.
He was obviously a remarkable guy, and his death at 40 is truly tragic.