Kevin Bryant, who graduated from Illinois Wesleyan last month and was a three-year varsity basketball player for the Titans, passed away on Sunday, June 8, as a result of injuries suffered in a whitewater rafting accident in Colorado last week. He was taken off life support Sunday at the Medical Center of the Rockies in Loveland, Colo.
Bryant finished his IWU playing career in March and averaged 1.9 points in 28 career games and started two games in the 2006-07 season when he averaged 2.9 points and 1.2 rebounds.
The entire Illinois Wesleyan community is saddened by the loss and extends its sympathy to “K.B.” and his family and many friends.
IWU coach Ron Rose said: “This is a very sad day for our basketball program and the entire Illinois Wesleyan community. Kevin really epitomized all that's good about a college student-athlete.
&&b-boxl&&"Kevin was just so highly respected by all those who came in contact with him because he was such a hard worker and fierce competitor on the court but such a gentleman and the most loyal of teammates off it."
Jason Bloom was a roommate, classmate and teammate of Bryant's and said: "Kevin is one of the strongest people I know. If anyone could get through a tragic accident like that, it would have been him.
"Kevin was a winner. He would do anything to make people happy. He was an extremely loyal friend. It was a privilege to call him one of my best friends."
In his blog, radio analyst Bob Quillman wrote: "I had the pleasure of getting to know Kevin over the course of his four years at IWU, via his involvement in the Sigma Chi fraternity and the Titan basketball team. Kevin embodied everything Illinois Wesleyan, CCIW, and Division III athletics stands for. As a senior who played limited minutes on the varsity this past season, he did not develop a negative attitude. Instead, he became IWU's hardest worker at practice every day, doing his part to make his teammates better ... a contribution that had a lot to do with how well IWU's young players performed in game action in '07-08. His work ethic and attitude is something all of us should learn from."