The under-8 media timeout had just passed inside Cameron Indoor Stadium and Sean McNeil headed to the scorers’ table. No. 25 Ohio State, which had led No. 17 Duke by as many as six points in the early going, was clinging to a two-point lead with about seven minutes left in the first half as the graduate guard prepared to check in against the Blue Devils on Nov. 30.
Then, glancing over his right shoulder toward the Ohio State cheering section where his dad, brothers and dad’s girlfriend were seated, McNeil got his first glance at what was going to be a life-altering night for his family when he saw medical personnel attending to somebody near the court.
“I knew where my family was sitting,” McNeil said. “At first I thought, God-willing I was hoping it was none of my family … and then the only thing I saw was my dad’s girlfriend walk out of the door with all the medical people so at that point I knew it was something in my family.”
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His initial thought was that something might have happened with one of his brothers, who has Type 1 diabetes. What he would later learn was that his father, Jeff, had suffered a heart attack during the game and was being rushed to Duke University Hospital for emergency surgery. Jeff McNeil is now back home in Kentucky and beginning his rehabilitation process, but within 45 minutes of collapsing he was undergoing life-saving surgery.
Meanwhile, the Buckeyes were battling the Blue Devils and McNeil was trying to keep himself focused on the matchup without letting his mind wander too far.
“I tried to just not assume anything,” he said. “Obviously I was thinking of all the worst things that possibly could’ve happened but I didn’t know what happened. I didn’t want to jump to any terrible conclusions. I was just hoping it wasn’t too bad and then just obviously trying to focus on the task at hand, the game.
“I kind of went into panic mode a little bit but tried to calm myself down as much as I could, but definitely it was tough to manage everything with what was going on.”
When McNeil checked into the game with 6:31 remaining in the half, the West Virginia transfer said he looked back over to the stands and saw none of his family members sitting there. He wouldn’t learn the full extent of what had happened until the end of Duke’s 81-72 win, but when his brothers returned for the second half they were able to reassure him that things would be okay.
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“We made eye contact and they kind of went like this (makes calming motion with both hands) and said, ‘Calm down,’ so at that point I was thinking it might not be too bad but then obviously I found out after the game it was pretty bad,” he said. “I think the only people (on the team) that knew actually what happened was our team doctor and maybe some guys on staff, but I don’t think anybody knew.”
After playing all but seven seconds of the second half, McNeil learned what had happened and headed to the hospital to be with his family. Thanks to the quick care of the Duke medical staff and the hospital personnel, his dad is expected to make a full recovery.
“That was certainly a scary moment for Sean, his brothers and all of us when we received word after the game,” Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann said. “We are all grateful to the Duke and Ohio State medical staffs for their coordination and quick response. It was truly life-saving. We are excited about the full recovery Jeff is expected to make.”
When the Buckeyes had a day off following last Thursday’s home win against Rutgers, Sean went home to spend the day with his dad and check in on him.
“He was laughing and joking a little bit too much for my liking: just relax, sit there, breathe, but he’s doing well now,” McNeil said. “He’s supposed to start some rehab stuff either this week or the following week. All of his reports and everything has been good.”
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Asked if the situation has made him a Duke supporter for life, McNeil laughed and offered a qualifier.
“A Duke fan might be a stretch but my dad jokes, “Whenever Duke’s cardio rehab team is playing, I’ll root for them every day of the week,’ ” he said. “It sucks that it happened but there was no better place for it to happen. I’m just super grateful.
“Somebody was watching over him that day. The care that he had and every person that he was in touch with was phenomenal.”
