Former Florida State star center Solomon Alabi's precipitous fall in Thursday night's NBA draft apparently was due in part to a diagnosis of Hepatitis B, his sports agency confirmed to the Times.
Ugo Udezue, a vice president of player representation for BDA Sports, released a statement from Dr. David Lucas, a sports medicine specialist in Clermont:
"Solomon Alabi tested positive for the Hepatitis B virus. Contact with this virus is common in the African population. His condition is easily treated and in no way will affect his ability and performance as a professional basketball player. He can look forward to a long and successful basketball career.''
The 7-foot-1 Alabi, a native of Nigeria who came to the United States in June 2005 and went to high school at Montverde Academy near Orlando, was FSU's leading scorer as a redshirt sophomore and a big reason the Seminoles were one of the nation's stingiest defenses the last two years. They also reached the NCAA Tournament the last two years.
When he declared early for the draft, he seemed like a sure-fire first-round pick. Mock drafts had him going somewhere around No. 20. Instead, he fell to No. 50 and the Dallas Mavericks, who promptly traded him to Toronto for cash and a future draft pick.
An initial report in the Tallahassee Democrat said his freefall was linked to a letter sent to every NBA club shortly before the draft that raised a red flag. The Democrat reported Alabi had a "rare medical condition.'' While rare in the United States (about 1 million cases), Hepatitis B, an inflammation of the liver, is more common in Africa and Asia. It often can be managed by antiviral medication that lessens the infection and may decrease the chance for severe liver disease later in life.
Still, if teams didn't understand the implications of Hepatitis B or have enough time to do the proper due diligence, it's easy to see how and why Alabi would drop. Although a gifted shot blocker and a solid shooter, he's considered a bit raw and in need of more bulk and has had a couple surgeries (one for a stress fracture to his right leg in January 2008 and a minor knee procedure after last season).
The Raptors, however, had been one of the teams most interested in Alabi (it needs size, especially if Chris Bosh leaves) and the club has a former pro player as an assistant general manager, Masai Ujiri, who's from Nigeria and figures to have a better understanding of Alabi's medical condition.
