Coach O’Banion has lymphoma

 Kent State women’s basketball announced Thursday afternoon that Head Coach Danielle O’Banion has been diagnosed with lymphoma and will begin treatment on Monday, Nov. 24.  O’Banion may miss time with the team periodically.”I am extremely grateful for my early diagnosis and eager to attack treatment in the months ahead,” said O’Banion.  “Our team continues our daily drive to move Kent State women’s basketball forward and I am confident that we will do so.”Assistant Coach Geoff Lanier will take over head coaching duties if O’Banion is unavailable.

“Our number one priority is to support Danny as she takes on this challenge,” said Director of Athletics Joel Nielsen.  “Danny is a strong, resilient, inspiring woman who has great faith and we will be there to help her in any way we can.  I’d like to thank everyone in advance for their support and respect for her privacy during this time.”

O’Banion was hired as the fifth head coach in Kent State history by Nielsen in April 2012.  A 12-year coaching veteran, she is currently in her third season leading the Golden Flashes.

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O’Banion and the team are in Evanston, lIl.., where the Flashes play Northwestern tomorrow night.

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Lymphoma is a cancer of the blood cells. It’s treatable and controllable, especially if caught in its early stages. O’Banion’s apparently was. There are a number of different kind of lymphomas, with somewhat different treatments and prognoses.

The best overview I found was on Wikipedia, at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lymphoma.

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I’m a fan and an ex-journalism professor, and I haven’t quite figured out which this blog is. It’s tilted toward journalism. But news like this certainly puts into perspective how important putting a ball in a basket is.

Danny is one of the most relentlessly upbeat people I’ve ever known. Even I admit we haven’t had time to figure out how good a coach she is going to be. I can tell you that she is a very good human being.