June 12, 2001

LAS VEGAS - The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) has announced 19 finalists for the team that will represent the United States at the 2001 COPABA (Confederation of Pan American Basketball Associations) Tournament of the Americas.

USA Basketball selected the NJCAA, who is an active member of USA Basketball, to participate in the tournament. The NJCAA is responsible for the selection of coaches and players for the 2001 USA Tournament of the Americas Team. The team will conduct training camp Aug. 8-13 at Vincennes University (Ind.) and the squad will be pared down to 10. The 10-member team will compete in the COPABA Tournament of the Americas that is being held Aug. 15-26 in Neuquen, Argentina.

Dan Sparks of perennial junior college power Vincennes University (Ind.) has been named as head coach of the team, and Jay Harrington of Southwestern Illinois College and Bob Tipson of Champlain College (Vt.) are the assistants.

Marcus Banks j(Dixie College/UNLV), Antwain Barbour (Wabash Valley College / Elizabethtown, Ky.), Kenny Brown (Iowa Western C.C. / St. Louis, Mo.), Jason Detrick (Southwest Missouri State Plains / Newport News, Va.), J.K. Edwards (Indian Hills. C.C. / Clemmons, N.C.), Ebi Ere (Barton County C.C. / Tulsa, Okla.), Blandon Ferguson (College of Southern Idaho / Oakland, Calif.), Reggie Griffin (Cedar Valley College / Little Rock, Ark.), Marcus Hatten (Tallahassee C.C. / Baltimore, Md.), Jerry Holman (Minneapolis C.C. / St. Paul, Minn.), Chris Jackson (Garden City C.C. / Dallas, Texas), Darmetreis Kilgore (Tyler Junior College / South Bend, Ind.), Pervis Pasco (Pensacola J.C. / Clearwater, Fla.), Antonio Rambo (Southwest Illinois College / Memphis, Tenn.), Seth Scott (Utah Valley State College / Orem, Utah), Janerio Spurlock (Chipola J.C. / Cincinnati, Ohio), Joe Sykes (Marshalltown C.C. / North Hardin, Ky.), Darren Tarver (Wabash Valley College / Akron, Ohio) and Derrick Tarver (Howard College / Akron, Ohio) as finalists for the squad.

The players represent 18 NJCAA schools and of the 19 players expected to participate in the training camp, 14 will be playing at NCAA Division I colleges in 2001-02, while five are slated to return for their sophomore seasons at their NJCAA institutions.

The 2001 COPABA Tournament of the Americas, featuring 10 teams, will serve as the championship tournament for North, South and Central Americas, and will also serve as the qualifying tournament to determine the five nations from the Americas zone that will qualify for the 2002 FIBA World Championship for Men that is being held in Indianapolis, Ind. The United States has already qualified for the 2002 FIBA World Championship as the host country.

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DERRICK'S BROTHER  - DARREN

 

GEORGE MASON'S DARREN TARVER DISCHARGED, CAREER OVER

May 16, 2002  Sportsticker

FAIRFAX, Virginia (Ticker) -- George Mason University junior guard Darren Tarver, who had a heart attack a week ago, was discharged from the hospital Thursday. His playing career is over.

Tarver, 21, experienced cardiac arrest due to heart arrythmia while taking a break during a pick-up game on campus last Thursday. A professor began CPR and Fairfax emergency personnel responded within minutes, resuscitating Tarver before he was taken to INOVA Fairfax Hospital.

The 2001 Junior College Player of the Year, Tarver underwent a battery of tests Monday and Tuesday that determined that he needs a defibrillator -- similar to a pacemaker -- implanted in his shoulder. The combination of his condition and the defibrillator will prevent him from playing high-level intercollegiate athletics.

GMU will honor Tarver's athletic scholarship. His twin brother, Derrick, underwent a series of tests Thursday to determine if he has a similar problem.

"I am happy to be alive and I'm looking forward to beginning the next phase of my life, which I hope will include coaching basketball," Tarver said.

The 6-3, 195-pound Tarver averaged 16.7 points in each of his two seasons at Wabash Valley Community College in Illinois, leading the school to the 2001 NJCAA Division I championship. At George Mason, he averaged 18 points in three games before suffering a stress fracture in his left foot and taking a medical redshirt season.

Copyright © 2002 SportsTicker Enterprises, L.P.

 

TARVER SUFFERS CARDIAC ARREST

FAIRFAX, VA, May 10, 2002 … George Mason University junior men’s basketball player Darren Tarver suffered a heart-related incident Thursday afternoon and is currently in stable condition at INOVA Fairfax Hospital.

Tarver collapsed while taking a break during a pick-up basketball game at George Mason’s John Linn Memorial Gymnasium at approximately 2:45 p.m. Thursday. CPR was started immediately and was continued by EMS personnel from the City of Fairfax upon their arrival, with Tarver’s condition being stabilized. He was transported to INOVA Fairfax Hospital, where he was evaluated in the emergency room before being admitted.