Cal’s Alston overcame scare, now puts fear in defenses
Mark Marietta
Mark Marietta/ For the Observer-Reporter
Philip Alston warms up with the California University Vulcans before a game against Fairmont State.
Mark Marietta/Observer-Reporter
Philip Alston slams the hoop as he warms up with the California University Vulcans before a game against Fairmont State.
CALIFORNIA – Philip Alston still remembers running up and down the basketball court at California University’s Hamer Hall on that September day in 2019, playing in a pickup game.
He also remembers feeling lightheaded, then getting dizzy, then …
“I collapsed to the floor. The next thing I remember was seeing a bunch of EMTs, an ambulance crew. They were loading me onto a stretcher,” recalled Alston, a member of the men’s basketball team at California.
“For a few minutes after it happened, it was very scary. I didn’t know what happened, what caused this. I know they gave me CPR and rushed me to the hospital. It was serious enough that I had to be life-flighted on a helicopter.”
What “it” was was diagnosed as is a problem with Alston’s hemoglobin, which had dropped to dangerously low levels because of blood loss. He was bleeding in his digestive tract.
“I basically had small holes in my intestines that caused bleeding,” Alston explained after a recent Vulcans game. “It was scary but, as Alston says, at least they found out there wasn’t a problem with his heart.
“I spent a week in the hospital. Fortunately, no surgery was necessary. Once the doctors figured out what was wrong with me, they were able to treat it with blood and iron transfusions. I had lost so much blood.”
Alston, who was beginning his freshman year of college when this happened, was able to rejoin the Vulcans for the start of the basketball season.
“I am very thankful to be playing basketball today,” Alston said. “I made sure to take it slow and build up my stamina.”
His health issue is one reason Alston played only sparingly as a freshman. He appeared in 18 of Cal’s 30 games, averaging 3.9 points and 2.1 rebounds per game.
The good news was that Alston was feeling stronger once his blood levels were under control. He had more energy and more endurance on the court and in the weight room.
It was a significant change from his days at Westerville North High School in Ohio.
“I had the low blood level problem when I was in high school. I can remember people saying that I was lazy and that I wasn’t in shape. Well, that’s because I had a problem,” Alston said.
These days, nobody is questioning Alston’s worth ethic.
“He’s changed his body. He’s gone from 205 pounds to 235 pounds. During a crazy year, he managed to get better,” Cal coach Danny Sancomb said.
Alston’s scoring and rebounding numbers also have gotten larger. Through five games against a very difficult schedule, the kid who was once called “lazy” is averaging 24.6 points and 9.6 rebounds per game for the 4-1 Vulcans.
Alston last week became the first California player in more than 25 years to score 30 points in back-to-back games. He scored 37, on 16-for-21 shooting, and grabbed 10 rebounds in a win over Franklin Pierce. Two nights later, he scored 35 points (16-for-29 shooting) and grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds in a three-point loss to 22nd-ranked Fairmont State. Seven of Alston’s 32 field goals last week were dunks.
“I am thankful that I was able to get to a school like Cal, where I can reach my potential,” Alston said.