Ramon Ramos Manso (born November 1, 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 Jose and in the United States on Seton Hall where he is a basketball legend.
Biography[]
Career in Puerto Rico[]
Ramos began to play in 1985 for the Indios de Canovanas 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 Bayamon, 4 games to 3. That same year he played in the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, Korea. [2] In 1989, the Indios reached the quarter-finals.
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 during the 1988-89 season and to the Big East All-Tournament Team 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, 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' car skidded off the free-way as he was driving home[3]. Ramos was injured badly, and he was in a coma for three months [4]. In Puerto Rico, because of the time difference between Puerto Rico and Oregon, people did not learn about the accident until the morning after. The news was covered by all newspapers, and television channels kept updates about Ramos' 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 never played a minute in a regular season game, he cast an impression on teammates and Portland fans that lasted long after that life-threatening automobile accident. The 6-foot-8, 255-pound forward from Seton Hall came to fall camp with a work ethic, affable personality, infectious smile and against-all-odds drive to make it in the NBA made him a fan favorite. Because of tendinitis, he started the 1989-90 season on the injured list. He had just been activated but had not played in a game yet before the career-ending accident. 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 PGE 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, long standing applause when they were introduced.
Ramos has difficulty walking and doing every day things, and he requires constant supervision by his parents. His story has been shown several times in Puerto Rican and American television.
In February 2006, Ramos returned to New Jersey for the first time since his days at Seton Hall, as he was inducted into the school's athletic Hall of Fame [6].
References[]
- ↑ http://www.bsnpr.com/jugadores/jugador.asp?id=1926&e=
- ↑ http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ra/ramon-ramos-1.html
- ↑ http://www.beyondthebeat.net/20090831333/2009-articles/august/covering-ramon-ramos.html
- ↑ Periodico El Mundo 5/8/90 pg 57 "Ramos: Ganando la Batalla"
- ↑ http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=13707#
- ↑ Bridgewater Courier-News Article on HOF Induction
es:Ramón Ramos