Mourning Speaks About Adversity, Resiliency

Friday evening Alonzo Mourning returned to the Hilltop not just as a former student and basketball star, but also as a teacher.

Mourning revisited the Hilltop to discuss his life-altering battle with kidney disease and his newly published book entitled, “Resilience: Faith, Focus, Triumph.” In his work, Mourning discusses the challenges he faced while dealing with focal segmental glomerular sclerosis (FSGS) and the means by which he was able to overcome such obstacles. “It’s not a sports book,” Mourning said, “it’s a life book.”

Mourning (CAS ’92) is best known for his contributions on the basketball court as one of the Hoyas’ all-time greats. The 6-foot-10 center graduated from Georgetown as a three time all-American and earned the Big East player of the year award in his senior season. Mourning is one of four Hoyas to score over 2,000 points in his career, and ranks second in career blocks only behind Patrick Ewing (CAS ’85). His basketball career transcends the Hilltop however, as Mourning, the No. 2 pick in the 1992 NBA draft, had an extremely successful NBA career. The seven-time NBA All-Star and two-time NBA defensive player of the year recipient played for the Charlotte Hornets, New Jersey Nets and Miami Heat. Mourning was also a significant contributor on the United States 2000 Gold-Medal Olympic Team. The all-time leading scorer in Miami Heat history should not be solely remembered for his legacy in basketball however, as he has lived a life atypical of an NBA star.

In 2000, Mourning was diagnosed with a FSGS, a life-threatening kidney disease.

Substantially hampered by this detrimental illness, Mourning announced an early retirement in 2003. Shortly after his retirement however, Mourning was given a kidney transplant. In perhaps one of the most inspiring stories in NBA history, Mourning re-entered the league and played for four more seasons, helping the Heat earn an NBA title in 2006.

Throughout his lecture, Mourning drew upon his experiences to teach the audience important life lessons. Mourning spoke about how to deal with adversity and stressed the importance of hard work and resiliency.

Regardless of how good you think you got it, you’re going to face issues in your life and you gotta know how to deal with them. … We are all gonna face adversity in our life,” he said.

Speaking about how he felt when he learned the implications of his diagnosis, Mourning said: “I could have easily given up at that point … [but] anything worth having in life you gotta work for.”

Mourning preached the importance of providing hope and assistance to others. After being diagnosed with FSGS, he launched a charity called Zo’s Fund for Life, an organization that seeks to combat FSGS and related diseases while providing funds for those who are unable to afford medication.

“There’s a blessing in every lesson,” Mourning said.

The sociology major also described his experiences at Georgetown, praising former Head Coach John Thompson Jr. for his positive influence.

“Coach Thompson was like a father to me,” Mourning said. “McDonough [Gymnasium] was my biggest classroom because it taught me about life.”

Following his lecture, Mourning stayed to sign copies of his book as well as additional memorabilia. Mourning attended the men’s basketball game on Saturday at the Verizon Center, donning his “We Are Georgetown” shirt, presented to him by Hoya Blue.

“It’s been an honor to have been a part of the Georgetown family,” Mourning said. “It feels good to represent Hoya Saxa.”