By John Denton

Feb. 24, 2015

ORLANDO – If anyone in the NBA can relate to the sense of loss that Miami Heat all-star Chris Bosh is going through now that his season is over and his career is in danger, it is Orlando Magic forward Channing Frye.

It wasn’t so long ago that Frye missed an entire NBA season because of a scary heart condition and for a time he wasn’t sure if he would ever play basketball again.

During a routine physical prior to the 2012-13 season, Frye was found to have irregularities in his heartbeat. Further testing and several nervous days later determined that Frye had a dilated cardiomyopathy, also known as an enlarged heart caused by a virus. Frye, a member of the Phoenix Suns at the time, feared that his basketball career was over at the tender age of 29.

``Anything that has to do with the heart is scary,’’ recalled Frye, now 31. ``The first thing I thought about was my own well-being and the second thing was whether I’d ever be able to play basketball again. That part of it was rough.’’

Frye’s sympathies are going out to Bosh in the wake of the standout forward being ruled out for the rest of the season after developing blood clots on one of his lungs. It’s common for the clots to have worked their way from the legs to the lungs, a dangerous occurrence. Blood clots are always a serious condition, but this is a particularly scary moment for Bosh and the NBA after former player Jerome Kersey died last Wednesday from a blood clot in his lung. Kersey, a long-time Portland Trail Blazer, was 52.

Miami, 24-31 and sitting tenuously at No. 7 in the Eastern Conference playoff race, was staggered by the loss of Bosh – an all-star this season who was averaging a team-best 21.1 points and also 7.0 rebounds a game. Bosh is in the first year of a five-year, $118 million free-agent contract that he signed in July.

The Magic, winners of three straight and four of six since interim head coach James Borrego took over on Feb. 5, won’t have to face a player in Bosh who has given them fits with his pick-and-pop abilities. In his last trip to Orlando – a 99-92 Heat win on Nov. 22 – Bosh made 13 of 20 shots and four of six 3-pointers for 32 points. Orlando did a much better job getting out to him on Dec. 29 – Bosh scored 20 points and didn’t make a 3-pointer – and the Magic won 102-101 in Miami.

Frye, who would have been guarding Bosh on Wednesday, said basketball is the least of the concerns with the Heat star, who is universally liked by coaches and opposing players throughout the NBA. Frye just wants Bosh back in good health.

``Chris is in good hands I figure and I wish him the best,’’ Frye said. ``I don’t know a lot of information on blood clots or where they come from, but hopefully it’s something that can be corrected and he can get back to play. He’s a great competitor, a great athlete and he’s busted me a couple of times. I think he’s one of the best power forwards in the game, and I want him to come back so I can compete against the best.’’

FRYE’S HEART SCARE

Frye had no indication that anything was wrong with him in the fall of 2012 when his world was rocked by the news of his enlarged heart. The first diagnosis was that he would never play basketball again. Second and third opinions were that he could use rest and medication to repair his heart and that he would eventually be back to normal.

Out of basketball and forced to wear a mobile heart monitor around the clock, Frye had to limit his activities and exertion levels to next to nil. Even golf was out of the question, and doctors initially frowned on him even watching basketball games from courtside because of the effect it would have on his racing pulse and elevated heart rate.

Instead, Frye poured himself into spending extra time with his children and practicing yoga to ease his mind. The pain of losing basketball hurt him more than his heart condition, and his mission was to get back to basketball when some figured him done as a sharp-shooting ``stretch-four’’ forward.

``There were conflicting reports of `yes, you can play again,’ and `no, you can’t play,’’’ Frye recalled. ``I just continued to get enough information and eventually I was able to prove the naysayers wrong. And here I am now. For me, it was just about getting all of the right information from all of the right doctors. In Chris’ case, I’m sure he’s going to the best doctors in America.’’

After missing a full year, Frye came back and played all 82 games during the 2013-14 season. Statistically, he was one of the most efficient power forwards in the NBA while helping the Suns to 48 victories. While trying to get back onto the court, Frye’s prevailing thought was wanting to play again so that his young daughter – who suffers from vision problems – could see him play basketball. Also, a year out of basketball gave him a new perspective on the game he treasures so greatly.

``Every day I appreciate it just being able to come in here and hoop and be around the guys,’’ Frye said. ``And one big motivation for me was that (two years ago) my daughter was going through some stuff with her eyes and I wanted to be able to play long enough so that she could see me play. The last game (in Phoenix) I got her close seats and she saw me on the JumboTron. So that was pretty big for me. That day, for me personally at least, was huge. And I hope Chris Bosh can come back and he gets himself right.’’

DOING WHAT’S BEST FOR THE TEAM

Frye, who signed a four-year free-agent contract with the Magic in July, has had a season full of highs and lows in Orlando. But under Borrego – who has encouraged him to shoot more often and to defend harder – the sweet-shooting forward has shown signs of coming around of late. He had 12 first-quarter points and 15 points total in Orlando’s 103-98 defeat of Philadelphia on Sunday.

For the season, Frye has averaged 7.6 points and 4.2 rebounds – numbers that Borrego said can be misleading because his true impact on the Magic offense is spreading the floor and creating interior space for Nikola Vucevic and Tobias Harris and wider driving lanes for Victor Oladipo and Elfrid Payton. Frye is shooting 38.9 percent from 3-point range and 283 of 391 (72.3 percent) of his shots have come from beyond the 3-point stripe.

``You don’t always see (Frye’s true impact) in the stats after the game, but Channing does open up the floor for us. We move him around and try to move that other big man away from the rim to give us more space,’’ said Borrego, whose Magic are 4-2 in his six games as coach. ``So you may not always see it in (Frye’s) numbers, but when he does get his shots you want him to shoot it with confidence. We want him to shoot more of them and we’re encouraging him to do that.’’

Frye showed off his selflessness recently when he called Borrego after he was appointed Orlando’s head coach following the dismissal of former coach Jacque Vaughn. Frye knows that he has struggled defensively this season, and he told Borrego that if needed to make a change in the starting lineup that he would fully support the switch for the good of the team. Borrego stuck with Frye in the starting lineup and the forward has responded with four steals and three blocked shots in the past five games.

```He’s one of the first players to say, `What do you need from me?’ That meant a lot to me and our group,’’ Borrego said. ``He’s a pro and he understands the business. He understands the group and he’s not a selfish kid. He wants what’s best for this group. He’s willing to come off the bench, start, play (power forward), play (center) or guard (power forwards) or guard (centers). He says, `Whatever you need coach, I’ve got you.’ And that meant a lot to us.’’

Added Frye: ``As a professional and as a person, I owe that to J.B. to give him a 110 percent and I owe him a serious amount of respect for coming into a tough situation. I’ve tried to let him know, `Hey man, whatever you want to do and whatever is best for us to win …’ I’ve never complained about coming off the bench, not playing or not playing a lot. Whatever he wants to do, do it. I’m here for (Borrego). We’re building a trust. It’s only been six games, but so far he’s shown me a lot about himself and I hope that he can continue to grow with us.’’

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