Updated: 3 hours ago“What’s the wildlife like? Is it dark all the time? How much does it snow?” the former University of Alaska Anchorage guard recalls pondering prior to leaving home.
Tyson Gilbert poses with his parents in front of the Alaska Airlines Center, home of UAA Basketball as he arrives on campus in August 2020.“You got Cane’s?” Gilbert and two new teammates asked the UAA coaching staff after being picked up from the airport for the new season. ”I went to go set a down screen and next thing I know my teammate, A.J. Garrity, he was looking over me.”
“What I had was a right anomalous coronary artery,” Gilbert said. “Basically, I was born with one of my arteries on the wrong side so anytime I would exercise, it would pinch off oxygen to my heart.” ”Obviously in my mind, not just basketball-wise, just life-wise, I am an active person, I am an active guy so I just was like, ’Let’s go through with it. Let’s do it.’”
“Obviously, I am hurting, it is a tough situation, but I was like, I can’t feel sorry for myself. These kids are in here smiling and having a good time and really just taking every day that they can, you know? So I was like, ‘There is no need for me to feel sorry for myself,’ I got another chance at life so that definitely changed my whole perspective on a lot of things.”
Soon after, Tyson’s mother organized “The Walk for 1 in 100,″ a 4-kilometer walk to raise awareness of congenital heart disease and the 1 in 100 children in America born with a heart defect. By January 2021, Gilbert was cleared to participate in UAA workouts and practices. Determined to play basketball again, he continued to gain strength and get back into playing shape as the months went on and he stacked up more and more practice.”I went to catch a pass from one of my teammates, just some regular, routine stuff you’ve done a million times,” Gilbert recalled. “I just felt a pop in the back of my left leg and I turned around and was like, ‘Who kicked me?’ and nobody was there.
But the UAA coaching staff, led by head coach Rusty Osborne and assistant Ryan Orton, reassured Gilbert that his time was coming. The standout guard went on to average a team-high 15 points while leading the Seawolves with 61 steals and 84 3-pointers while being named First Team All-Conference. He saved his best for last, pouring in a career-high 28 points in a win over No. 1 Saint Martin’s, lifting the Seawolves to a 22-11 record and a berth to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 12 years. He was named Team MVP.