A sophomore basketball player in the Bay Area collapsed at an AAU game over the weekend and later died, and doctors have not yet determined the cause of death.
Kimberly Nuestro, a sophomore at Homestead (Cupertino, Calif.), stopped breathing during a game last weekend at Santa Clara’s Mission College. She was pronounced dead hours later at Stanford Medical Center.
As the Mercury News reports, the school has set up a memorial for students to honor the sophomore who loved watching Steph Curry and was her junior varsity team’s most valuable player this past year.
An autopsy is expected to reveal the cause of death.
In an interview with Prep2Prep, Kimberly’s father, Ramir, called his daughter a winner who had a strong work ethic in sports and academics.
“She was a fighter, but always had that smile on her face,” he told Prep2Prep. “She was that way all the way until the end.”
He added, “She was a humble leader. But she also brought lots of excitement and a winning attitude.”
According to the Mercury News, Ramir Nuestro sent Curry a social media message after Kimberly’s death, asking the Warriors’ star to sign her No. 30 Curry shoes in his daughter’s honor.
“Hi Steph,” Ramir wrote, “just want to let you know that Kimberly my daughter is your no. 1 fan she died 5-717 wearing no. 30 while playing basketball. Dreaming of signing her curry shoes. Steph Kimberly loves you.”
According to reports, the shoes were dropped off at the Warriors headquarters and signed by Curry.
The hashtag #signforkim went viral on Twitter.
Heartbreaking to hear about passing of Kim Nuestro. Gone too soon while playing the game she loved
let sports bring us 2gether #signforkim pic.twitter.com/Pnj0ibvNiy
— Warren Moon (@WMoon1) May 9, 2017
let sports bring us 2gether “She was a popular kid on campus,” Homestead athletic director Charlie Bostic told the Mercury News Thursday.
Curry signed the shoes and shared his thoughts on Nuestro’s passing with The Epitaph.