Georgetown senior with heart issue will start Saturday

Georgetown senior center Tyler Adams will start on Senior Day Saturday, his first game since a heart issue forced him to end his playing career. 

Georgetown asked the NCAA for a waiver that will allow Adams to suit up and play "one possession or so," according to The Washington Post. 

"I thought it was a joke, everyone started laughing and it kind of shocked me, but everyone was excited when they heard the news," Adams said, according to the school's website.

Adams was a four-star high school recruit and signed with Georgetown after originally committing to play for Duke.

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Adams was born with an irregular heartbeat and had surgery to remove a muscle from the heart when he was six years old, according to the Post. He had no further heart trouble until summer workouts before his first season at Georgetown, in 2011.

Doctors gave Adams a pacemaker and he was able to play in four games for the Hoyas before he complained of chest pain at a practice on Dec. 14, 2011. After a doctor diagnosed him with an arrhythmia, he was given the option to continue playing. 

"The doctor told me I could play 20 years, and nothing happens," Adams told the Post. "Or I could play two minutes, and something happens."

Adams decided not to risk it and head coach John Thompson III guaranteed to keep Adams on scholarship. Thompson calls Adams a "junior coach," the school said.

Georgetown (19-9) plays Seton Hall on Saturday at 1 p.m. in its regular season finale.

- Dan Gartland