Ramon Ramos should have had a journeyman's career in the NBA as a 6'8 forward out of Seton Hall.
He was tough. He could rebound. But that was only one side of the kid from Puerto Rico who was humbly described as gentle and giving. Yet in an unforgiving instance, Ramos' life in the league was over before it truly got started with the Portland Trail Blazers in 1989.
So nearly was his life at 22-years old.
Ramos was originally undrafted out of Seton Hall where he played for P.J. Carlesimo, where a loss to Glen Rice and Michigan in thrilling overtime dashed their dreams of capturing an NCAA title earlier that year. Ramos remains the school record holder for career shooting percentage (.557), ranks third on the Pirates' all-time list for blocked shots (146) and also represented Puerto Rico at the 1988 Olympic Games.
There was even the time when Ramos left a lasting impression on the Blazers when the free-agent rookie scored 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in an exhibition game.
But it all happened so quickly.
In the early morning hours of December 16, Ramos – who had yet to appear in a regular season game – was heading home from a sports bar where teammate Clifford Robinson and friends were celebrating Robinson's birthday hours after losing to the Golden State Warriors at home.
Fog filled the air. Rain beat down. Miles outside of Portland on a stretch of Interstate 5 around Wilsonville, Ramos lost control of the Nissan 300ZX he was driving and skidded off the highway. Police reports later detailed how Ramos' car was traveling from 84 to 102 mph when his car hit an ice patch and flew 40 feet through the air at 3:15 am.
The car was said to have rolled over eight times. Ramon was thrown from the vehicle...........................
