Hawaii Pacific community reeling from sophomore Emil Isovic’s death

Hawaii Pacific’s last game with Emil Isovic will be the last game of 2018 in Honolulu for the Sharks.

A decision was made early Thursday evening that today’s basketball game against Division I Texas Christian would not be played after all following the death of Isovic on Wednesday.

The Sharks (4-5, 1-3 PacWest) leave Saturday morning for a three-game conference road trip to California. HPU faces Academy of Art on Monday.

The Horned Frogs (11-1), coming off the championship of the Diamond Head Classic, return home to open Big 12 play on Jan. 5 against Baylor. The game was scheduled as a regular-season game for TCU and an exhibition for HPU.

A statement issued by TCU Athletics read: “Under the current circumstances, it was not appropriate to play the game. Our thoughts and prayers are with Hawaii Pacific and the basketball team at this time.”

Earlier Thursday it was announced that the 2 p.m. contest at Saint Francis School was on as scheduled. It was to have included a moment of silence for the 21-year-old Isovic who died at Straub Medical Center eight days after collapsing on the sideline during the Sharks’ game against Southern Nazarene at the Hawaii Convention Center.

Isovic, a sophomore guard from Sweden, lost consciousness shortly after checking out of the game on Dec. 18 in the Hoops in Hawaii D2 Power Invitational tournament. He was taken to a hospital and remained unconscious for more than a week. His cause of death was not disclosed.

Isovic’s parents, Nezdad and Sanela, and brother, Dino, traveled from Sweden when the severity of the incident was known, and were at his side when he died. The family was supportive of the game being played.

The Sharks initially were unsure.

They’d just bid him farewell upon returning from a holiday break.

Isovic’s sudden absence hit them at different times. The first practice without him Thursday. The first weightlifting session.

“The biggest thing was, in the hospital a few days ago, I was talking with Emil’s dad and his brother,” HPU coach Darren Vorderbruegge said. “I wasn’t expecting anything. (I told them) ‘the team gets back tomorrow and we’re gonna talk to them and see if they want to play the game.’

“The dad immediately said, the brother said, ‘Emil would’ve slapped you guys around and said get out there and play those boys.’”

Isovic’s parents immigrated from Montenegro to Germany and then to Ahlen, Sweden, a journey “like a movie,” Vorderbruegge said. “They have this incredible story that they’ve been through that has galvanized their family.”

On Isovic’s player bio, the communications major lists traveling as a hobby and “great basketball program and great school” as the reason he came to play at HPU.

His coach described him as a “big personality” who would rouse teammates from their dorm rooms to be active outside. As a 6-foot-5 backup, he’d compete with the starters in practice then eagerly join them to get food and play video games.

Teammate Tavon Tarpley tweeted Wednesday, “enjoy life and people around you every second…never take it for granted,” adding a heart emoji.

Isovic had played 12.9 minutes per game in the Sharks’ first nine games of the season. There’d never been a similar medical issue with him.

He was the second HPU player to die as an active member of the team in the last eight years. In May 2011, Kameron Steinhoff, a 2008 Punahou graduate and a third-year player for the then-Sea Warriors, died following a skateboarding accident in Kaneohe.

“It’s unbelievable. Coaches can coach for 40 years and never have that happen,” Vorderbruegge said. “These were completely different circumstances, but the result was the same: losing a player.

“The same thing resonates to me with Kameron’s passing — the impact on the family. … The old saying is true. Parents aren’t supposed to outlive their kids. It’s devastating to see that.”

PacWest commissioner Bob Hogue added his condolences on social media.

HPU athletic director Sam Moku said in a release, “We are heartbroken at Emil’s loss and we thank the HPU community as well as friends throughout the world for their heartfelt condolences. Emil touched a great many lives and he will be sincerely missed.”

Moku directed those who wished “to support Isovic’s family in their time of need” to a student emergency fund set up at the top of the hpusharks.com home page under “Donate to a Program.”

The Star-Advertiser’s Cindy Luis contributed to this report.