Mikail Torrance, Former Alabama Guard Who Nearly Joined Maccabi Tel Aviv, Dies at 37

Mikail Torrance, the American basketball player who signed with Maccabi Tel Aviv in the summer of 2010 but never played for the club, has died at 37. The University of Alabama, where he played for four years, announced his death. No cause was released.

Torrance starred at Alabama from 2006 to 2010 and was one of the team’s leading players. In his final college season he averaged 15.6 points, 5.1 assists and 3.7 rebounds per game, led the SEC in free-throw percentage and was named to the All-SEC second team.

After college, he went undrafted in the NBA, reportedly because of medical concerns tied to a heart condition. Maccabi Tel Aviv still chose to sign him, and he was expected to begin his professional career in Europe.

That never happened. On August 20, 2010, just days before he was due to join the team, Torrance collapsed during a workout in Florida, lost consciousness and was taken to hospital in critical condition. Days later he was breathing on his own and later stabilized. He recovered and returned to the court about a year later, signing with Ormanspor Ankara of Turkey’s second division.

Between 2011 and 2015, he played in Turkey, Canada, Finland, the Dominican Republic and Mexico. He also got a tryout with the Miami Heat, but did not receive an NBA contract.