Ramón Ramos

Ramon Ramos

Personal information
Born	(1967-11-20) November 20, 1967 Canóvanas, Puerto Rico
Nationality	Puerto Rican
Listed height	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight	231 lb (105 kg)
Career information
College	Seton Hall (1985–1989)
NBA draft	1989 / Undrafted
Position	Center
Career history
1983–1989	Indios de Canóvanas
Medals Competitor for  Puerto Rico Men's Basketball Pan American Games Indianapolis 1987 Team Competition Tournament of the Americas Montevideo 1988 Team Competition Mexico City 1989 Team Competition

Ramón Luis Ramos Manso (born November 20, 1967) is a retired Puerto Rican basketball player, both on the National Superior Basketball and National Basketball Association level. He studied in Puerto Rico on Colegio San José and in the United States on Seton Hall University where he is a basketball legend.

Career in Puerto Rico

Ramos began to play in 1983for the Indios de Canóvanas franchise, as a bench player. Eventually, he became an important key to the success of the Indios of the late 1980s.^[1] In 1987, Ramos played on Puerto Rico's national youth (under 21) team that won the gold medal at the Centrobasket Under 21 competition, by beating the team from Cuba, 94-78 in Caguas.

Ramos helped the Indios to the finals in 1988, where they lost to the Vaqueros de Bayamón, 4 games to 3. That same year he played in the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, Korea.^[2] In 1989, the Indios reached the quarterfinals.

Career in College and NBA

Ramos played for the Seton Hall University Pirates from the Big East Conference. He was selected to the All-Big East First Team and awarded theBig East's Scholar athlete during the 1988-89 season and to the Big East All-Tournament FirstTeam during the 1988 and 1989 tournaments. In his last season in Seton Hall he led the Pirates to their first NCAA tournament title game ever, where they lost to the University of Michigan Wolverines by 1 point in overtime, 80-79

Ramos was not drafted in the 1989 NBA draft, but signed with the Portland Trail Blazers as a free agent. Ramos made the Blazers roster but started the season on the injured list with a knee injury. He was activated on December 5, 1989, but did not appear in any of the next six games.

Accident

On December 16, 1989, however, all that changed drastically. After the Trail Blazers' game in Portland, against Golden State, Ramos's car skidded off the freeway as he was driving home.^[3] Ramos was injured badly, and he was in a coma for three months.^[4] The news was covered by all newspapers, and television channels kept updates about Ramos's condition. Some television entertainers asked the public to pray for Ramos. A minute of silence and prayer was held at many activities throughout the island that day. While he waged a battle for survival, his NBA Finals-bound Blazers teammates dedicated their season to him. His locker remained in place, complete with his game uniform, that season and for several seasons to follow.

Recovery and later years

Ramos was flown to Puerto Rico by an air-ambulance, alongside his close relatives. About one year later, he began to make progress, drifting in and out of his coma,^[5] but still being in a semi-vegetative state. He regained his speech, but, because of his condition, sometimes he would start to say profanities to news reporters that informed the public about him.

During the summer of 1991, more than 20,000 fans turned out to help the Trail Blazers raise $130,000 at Slam ‘N Jam, an outdoor basketball and music event in what is now Providence Park in Portland, Oregon for a trust fund to assist Ramon’s recovery. Players from throughout the NBA came to play in the benefit game. Ramos and his parents were special guests and drew a long, standing ovation when they were introduced.

Ramos has difficulty walking and doing everyday things, and he requires constant supervision by his parents. His story has been shown several times on Puerto Rican and American television.

Ramos was inducted into the Seton Hall University Athletics Hall of Fame in February 2006. This marked Ramos' first return to New Jersey since his graduation.^[6]

See also

• List of Puerto Ricans

References