Ramon R

Ramon Ramos is a retired National Basketball Association player originally from Puerto Rican. He studied in Puerto Rico at Colegio San Jose and in the United States at Seton Hall where he is now a basketball legend.

Ramos began to play in 1985 for the Indios de Canovanas franchise. At first he sat the bench but eventually he became one of the key players. In 1987, Ramos played in 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 then came to the US and played for his college team at Seton Hall. He helped get his team to the final four's championship game during his last season there in 1989.

After college, Ramos was then signed by the Portland Trail Blazers, who predicted a great future for the Puerto Rican player. As he was new to the NBA his coaches had him sit the bench and observe the game's style rather than immediately starting him. Sadly, Ramos never got the chance to play.

In mid December of 1989, Ramos' car skidded off the free-way as he was driving home. Ramos was injured badly, and he was in a coma for over a year. While he never played a minute in a regular season game, he made an impression on his teammates and on 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. 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.

Ramos slowly emerged out of the coma about a year after the accident. Ramos has difficulty walking and doing every day things, and he requires constant supervision by his parents.

His family and friends are now working on creating a foundation in his name to help Hispanic students achieve their goals thru higher education, following Ramon Ramos example. Ramon was an excellent student, with an 3.9 average which earned him the title "Scholar Athlete of the year 1989" in The Big East Conference.

I'll end by quoting Coach PJ Carlesimo in his intro speech to Ramon's Induction into Seton Hall University Hall of Fame: "...most students come to a University to better themselves, a rare few end up bettering the University...Ramon Ramos was one of those few."

Submitted by Anonymous

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