Chris Small, Oxy Assistant
Dies During Workout--(Mar. 7, 2001)

We've seen a spate of nothing but bad news lately. . . from the wild events at Santee Santana down in San Diego which forced their girls' team to abandon the State tournament, and, more importantly, cost two innocent victims their lives, to the car-crash which claimed the life of former Ayala basketball standout Marcel Burke just about a year to the day that Ayala appeared in the Southern Section finals, and then there's the latest news which was posted on the message board yesterday by Matt Sargeant, a freshman standout guard at Pasadena Poly, which was confirmed in today's LA Times:

Chris Small, an an assistant coach at Occidental College and a former standout player at Manual Arts High and Los Angeles City College died late Monday night after collapsing while working out in the Occidental gym, an Occidental spokesman said. He was 31.  Small was playing basketball with a friend when he collapsed at about 10:30 p.m. Small's friend called paramedics on a cell phone and a campus safety officer started CPR before Small was taken by ambulance to Glendale Adventist Medical Center, but he was pronounced dead at 11:59 p.m. according to a hospital spokesperson. The exact cause of death is unknown, and the LA coroner's office will conduct an autopsy.  Small was a full-time student at Cal State Los Angeles and had been an assistant coach at Pasadena Poly High for four years before joining the Occidental staff.  He was a 6'-0" guard who averaged 20 ppg during the 1986-87, and 87-88 seasons for Manual Arts, which won the State Championship in 1988.   Small played at LA City College and then transferred to New Mexico State, before joining the Pasadena Poly staff and later, Occidental. There was no word on funeral arrangements or any memorial service.

Our condolences to the family and friends of Chris Small. He will be remembered fondly.

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