A star high school basketball player nicknamed "Shaq" by his classmates mysteriously collapsed and died inside his Arizona school's gymnasium Monday afternoon.

Armeil Watson, who would have turned 16 on Sunday, was playing an open-court game at Phoenix's Cesar Chavez High School when "he turned around to go and just wilted," the sophomore's coach, Gary Lee, told Arizona Central.

"All of a sudden he kind of had a false step and he went down and tried to get back up and scramble to go and get back on defense but couldn't get himself up," Lee told ABC 15.

The 15-year-old's basketball coach, Gary Lee, described him as a fun and free spirited sophomore, who "worked hard, never complained."

The junior varsity player, who stood a towering 6-foot-4, was promptly treated with CPR as well as paramedics within minutes but never regained consciousness.

Lee is summing up his death, whose cause has yet to be determined, as "just tragic."


"He was fun, free spirited, worked hard, never complained," he told ABC News.

Arizona Central reports that plans are underway to erect a memorial for the teen in a local park this week.