Caleb White's cause of death: What happened to the 17 YO basketball player?

Caleb White's cause of death has left the basketball world in shock and sorrow. White, a promising high school basketball prodigy, fainted during a workout on the court last Thursday at about 1:12 pm local time.

Efforts to save his life started immediately at the school. Unfortunately, he was pronounced dead at an Alabama hospital about an hour later. White was 17 years old at the time of his death.

Before his passing, White played basketball as a point guard at Pinson Valley High School. He and his teammates were playing a pickup game at the school gym when the incident occurred. The school is located in Pinson, a suburb of the city of Birmingham, Alabama.

White's mom was with him when he was pronounced dead at 2:23 pm. According to his mom, Charlette White, Caleb had a cardiac arrest. She said,

“It was devastating because they were working on him, giving him chest compressions. Then they called it and that was it. They said it was cardiac arrest.”

White had shown no prior signs of any heart condition. Neither was he feeling ill before the incident, said his mom.

Caleb White's grandfather, George Varnadoe Jr., took to Facebook to mourn the loss of his grandson. He acknowledged the effort of the first responders to revive him.

He recognized the White's immense talent and potential as one of the best high school basketball players in the country.

He wrote:

“Our whole family was really looking forward to his upcoming senior season and afterwards, playing for a D-1 school and then perhaps the NBA. But....it wasn't meant to be.”

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Caleb White's prospects before his death

Varnadoe also mentioned that his grandson was ranked 25th among point guards in the nation and No. 2 in Alabama.

ESPN ranked him as the No. 3 point guard in the state and No. 43 in the position across the country. He had not declared his commitment to any college before he suddenly passed away.

Caleb White had a three-star rating as a prospect. In his junior season, he averaged 20.9 points, 3.1 assists, and 3.8 rebounds per game. He had averaged 17.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 71 steals as a sophomore.

At 5-foot-11, he was one of the three finalists for Class 6A Player of the Year. He was also a first-team all-state selection. Just last month, he featured in the North-South All-Star basketball game in Montgomery.