Remembering Zeke Upshaw: A Great Player and Better Man

Dr. Dish Basketball has been very fortunate to partner with some of the best players, coaches, trainers, agents and influencers in the basketball world. Each relationship opens opportunities to do great things in the basketball world.

The past several years we've been able to attend and help players prepare for the RBA showcase. This event is headed up by BJ Bass who is one of the best agents in the business. We recently had the chance to speak with BJ about Zeke Upshaw and what he meant to his family, friends and the basketball world. 

BJ was able to share with us a handful of clips from Zeke's playing days and we were very proud to put together a tribute to him. Check out the video below to learn more about Zeke and his journey.

Zeke started his college basketball career at Illinois State and after playing sparingly for 3 years he decided to transfer to Hofstra where he had a breakout season. That year he led the CAA in scoring and was named to the all-conference second team. A very successful season indeed.

After going undrafted in 2014 he signed with Helios Suns in the Slovenian basketball league. After a great season he followed it up with a stat padded season in Luxembourg for Basket Esch. The following year Zeke entered his name into the NBA Developmental League. He was drafted in the 4th round by the Grand Rapids Drive. That year he averaged an impressive 6.5ppg and 3.0rpg.

The following season 2017/18 Zeke again played for the Grand Rapids Drive but this year he really took a big step forward in proving he was an extremely high level player. In the last game of the season, Zeke helped lead his team to the win which clinched a playoff spot for the club. Unfortunately with one minute remaining in the game, Zeke collapsed and had to be rushed to the hospital. Sadly two days later he passed away from sudden cardiac arrest. 

Zeke will be remembered for his resiliency, strength, positive attitude and desire to be great. To family and friends he was a champion and a leader in the community. It's sad to see people pass away at an early age especially when they have so much promise. But what Zeke showed us is that you can touch and change a lot of lives even in a short amount of time. 

Dr. Dish Basketball wanted to help bring awareness to the Zeke Upshaw Foundation and also his amazing legacy. If you're reading this and you have the time, take a deeper look into Zeke's journey and how his foundation now is bringing awareness for better health screening awareness surrounding CPR administration and AED use. 

Again we appreciate BJ Bass and Zeke's family allowing us the opportunity to create this tribute video and also remember his amazing journey!