HARTSVILLE (WBTW) – The last thing Coker University men’s basketball coach Jarred Merrill had on his mind during the season was having a stroke. The former player turned coach is in great shape, is married, and a proud father of 3 children. But things all changed last December moments before their scheduled game with the College of Charleston.
Merrill was hyping up in his team on the court for their big matchup with the Cougars. Shortly after that, he went back into the locker room and began sweating, then lost all feeling in his left side. His assistant coaches and their trainer called 911 and he was taken to the hospital having suffered a stroke.
Merrill says a vein that was deformed in his head caused the stroke. The Coker coach had no idea that could have happened and has no signs prior to the incident in December.
He spent nearly 4 months in Atlanta at the hospital and then at a rehab facility before returning back home to Darlington in early April. The whole time his wife and 3 children were by his side in Atlanta cheering him on, during his road to recovery.
Merrill still has work to do before he’s 100% again, but continues to get stronger day by day and will return to the Coker sidelines for the 2020-2021 season in Hartsville.
