South Philly Review

A 16-year-old’s heart should be a sturdy engine. What “should be,” however, often fails to materialize.

The family of Akhir Frazier received a reminder of life’s unfairness last Wednesday when they said goodbye to the former basketball star four days after he collapsed at a North Philadelphia recreation center.

Though autopsy results are pending, his family knows through doctors a thickening of Akhir’s heart contributed to his Aug. 21 collapse at the Hank Gathers Recreation Center in the city’s Strawberry Mansion section. Following four days of monitoring at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, the 6-foot-4 guard died in the late evening of Aug. 25.

Frazier’s plummet came two months after a similar episode at St. Joseph’s University, where he was representing Prep Charter, 1928 Point Breeze Ave., at a team camp. Two weeks ago, he removed himself from a game at the Gathers facility, which bears the name of another Philadelphia product whose heart proved likewise troubled.

“Our family has no history of heart problems,” Karen Beckham, Frazier’s mother, said.

A June stress test, also at CHOP, revealed no abnormalities. Despite that, Frazier was set to undergo an MRI Aug. 24. To prepare him, doctors advised no strenuous activity.

“Akhir couldn’t help himself,” Beckham, who attended Murrell Dobbins Tech the same time as Gathers, a star who died March 4, 1990, following a collapse during a Loyola Marymount University game, said.

Frazier started his decade-long love of basketball at age 6. His progression landed him a spot on the prestigious Philly Pride of the Amateur Athletic Union. When the time to choose a high school approached, the North Philadelphia native made his choice with a little help from his passion for hoops.

“Akhir came to see us when he was in seventh grade,” Dan Brinkley, Prep Charter’s boys’ basketball coach, said. “He watched us beat [Simon] Gratz [in the 2007 Public League Championship game at Temple University’s Liacouras Center]. He had known of our school’s athletic and academic traditions, but watching that game sealed it for him.”

At Prep Charter, Frazier played two seasons, joining the starting lineup this past year. In 24 games, he averaged seven points for the Huskies, who experienced a subpar season overall, going 12-12.

“As soon as he started going to Prep Charter, he had an academic turnaround,” Edward Frazier, Akhir’s father, said. “He went from being a D student to being a B student.”

“He was going to be a great player,” Brinkley added. “He had interest in playing for Florida State [University]. He definitely would have been a Division 1 player.”

In his time coaching Frazier, Brinkley noticed the young man’s maturity was escalating admirably.

“On the court he made decisions not often made by a sophomore,” he said. “So many guys try to think only of themselves. Akhir was always looking to feed the ball to the hot guys. He was always looking to involve everyone.”

That revelation makes for a stark contrast to the fact Frazier once had the nickname “Greedy.” As he matured, the “r” was dropped and he became known as “Geedy.”

“He was definitely on his way to being somebody,” his father said. “He already was someone, you know, but he was ready to become even bigger.”

Frazier moved with his father to Norristown in July and was set to begin classes at Norristown High.

“I never had any problems with Akhir,” Edward Frazier said.