MADISON, Wis. — For 10 years, people have assumed Latrell Fleming's promising University of Wisconsin basketball career was derailed by a heart condition discovered because he fainted during preseason conditioning workouts.
That's how the story appeared in all the publications at the time, anyway.
What Fleming never told most folks was that part of the story about him fainting wasn't entirely true.
While taking part in the annual basketball team tradition of running the famed hill at Elver Park, Fleming noticed that his legs were beginning to burn from so much physical exertion. He had completed eight of the required 10 trips up and down the steep hill in September 2001, when he decided to collapse in a heap to give himself a rest.
"The trainer slapped me in the face," Fleming said this week. "Once I felt my legs stop burning, I finished and did the last two. I got back to the gym and did the individual workout. The next day, (the trainer) said he was going to take me to the doctor to see why I passed out. I didn't want to tell him that I faked it. At the end of the week, they found out that I really did have the condition that I had."
Fleming – one of the top recruits in the Midwest at the time -- was diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, or an enlarged heart, that forced him to stop playing basketball before his freshman season at Wisconsin was set to begin in 2001-02.
"That side of the story has never been publicized," he said. "Only people that know me or have been around me know that story."
That Fleming never actually experienced a physical setback directly because of his heart condition makes the discovery of his ailment an even bigger miracle.
"Everything happens for a reason," Fleming said. "It doesn't happen just to happen."
Fleming has taken that belief with him everywhere he goes, and he hasn't allowed his heart complications to derail his dreams of remaining involved with basketball. If he couldn't play the sport he loved so dearly, he decided he was going to use that passion as a coach instead — a profession he believes was meant for him all along.
This season, he was hired as an assistant coach for the women's basketball program at Division III Alverno College in Milwaukee. Alverno coach Brad Duckworth said he first took notice of Fleming's work ethic as a coach for the WBA Prestige Yellow AAU girls basketball program in Milwaukee.
"It could have been pretty easy for him to say, ‘Poor me,' " Duckworth said. "I think that's what makes him special. And that's what makes him special as a coach. He still has a drive, and when he delivers that message that you can't take one single day for granted because you literally might wake up tomorrow and not be able to play again, he's experienced that. And I think he brings that message to the floor."
Fleming, 29, is responsible for working with Alverno's guards and honing their individual skill development. The former Milwaukee John Marshall High School standout also isn't afraid to join in the action during practice. Fleming said he had a defibrillator implanted in his chest that allows him to play occasional pick-up basketball at the local YMCA or help out with the Alverno team.
"He's the kind of guy that's going to sweat through two or three shirts every practice," Duckworth said. "He comes with two and has two to change into. He's the first one to jump in drills and show them. He's very good and very patient. I think it helps him fill that void."
Fleming, who works in private banking and wealth management at BMO Harris Bank in Milwaukee, said his aspiration is to become a Division I women's basketball head coach. He initially had doubts about coaching female players when he began at the AAU level in 2007, but once he saw their immense skill level, he decided to pursue it as a career.
Fleming actually received his start in the coaching business well before he graduated from Wisconsin in 2006 with a degree in political science and legal studies. Immediately after his heart condition was discovered in 2001, Badgers coach Bo Ryan, then in his first season at Wisconsin, asked Fleming to be a student assistant with the team.
He remained on full scholarship and spent the next five seasons involved with the Wisconsin program, traveling with the rest of the coaches and players.
"Bo Ryan, he basically made it so much easier for me," Fleming said. "He treated me as if I was a player all while I was there. He treated me like I scored 30 points against one of the biggest rivals. That made my transition that much easier.
"If I went to another program and the coach wasn't that accepting, it would have been tough. The biggest thing was Bo Ryan. He treats the 1 to 15 players the same. A lot of coaches say they do, but he really did."
Duckworth said he had asked Fleming on many occasions if he would want to play basketball again if he could. Fleming's answer every time was no: He would prefer to be a coach.
Duckworth has no doubt that Fleming can achieve his coaching dreams if he so desires. Everything, after all, happens for a reason.
"He lights up when he steps in the gym," Duckworth said. "He does really have a passion for coaching. Fifteen years ago someone took a chance on me, and he wanted to have an opportunity for someone to take a chance on him to be a college coach.
"If that's where his aspirations lie, he'll be there and he'll do a really good job at it."
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