Basketballers mourn Sam

Article by Justin Marville

THE PINELANDS and basketball fraternities have lost another great stalwart.

Former national player Ryan “Sam” Maynard passed away suddenly at home on Wednesday following lung and heart problems. He was 40.

His is yet another tragic loss for the two communities after both recently had to deal with the deaths of Kirk “Lump” Patrick and Andrew “Tarzan” within the last decade.

Maynard’s passing was a particularly tough one to swallow as he was still very active in coaching, having taking a keen interest in son Rasheed’s school team Alexandra while coaching Pinelands’ junior teams in several competitions.

“When you talk about Ryan you talk about a guy that devoted so much time to basketball and coaching the youth and he loved basketball so much he just couldn’t stay away even with his health,” said Pine coach and family friend Renaldo Maughn in a heartfelt interview with WEEKENDSPORT. (JM)

Please read the full story in today’s Weekend Nation, or in the eNATION edition.