His heart aches, but Sloan won't take break from Aggies

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Who can peek inside Donald Sloan's mind, his soul, right now?

What exactly compels a kid to play on the day his mother died?

'It stays in my head the whole time,' Donald Sloan says of his mother's death. (US Presswire)

Texas A&M's sophomore guard got the news Thursday morning that his mother had passed away due to an undisclosed illness. By Friday night he'd played two games -– well -- helping guide the Aggies into the Big 12 tournament semis for the first time after a 63-60 victory over Kansas State.

Every thing else was pretty much a blur.

"It's a feeling I've never felt before," Sloan said, sitting in his locker, checking his cell phone for messages. "I feel happy and depressed and sad at the same time. It's a feeling that is indescribable, actually."

None of this is for us to judge. The death was not unexpected but the cause was kept private. Hours after his mother, Sandra, died, Sloan contributed 12 points and nine assists Thursday night in the opening round against Iowa State. He had three points and six assists against the Wildcats.

"It's kind of difficult," Sloan said. "When you're out on the court you're thinking about playing, but at the same time, you make a mistake and you know why you made a mistake.

"I could see if it was a family member I wasn't really close to. But it's my mama. It stays in my head the whole time."

Somehow Sloan has been able to hold it together enough to become A&M's second-leading scorer (10 points per game), but there were cracks. In practice. In games. Sloan committed five turnovers on Friday while missing five of six shots. His streak of 18 consecutive made free throws came to an end at a crucial time with the Aggies holding a two-point lead with 2:35 remaining.

By Saturday he might be gone from this sad, strange, euphoric scene.

"I'm waiting for a text from my aunt," Sloan said late Friday, "to see when the funeral is, when I need to go back."

Sloan was a bit player as a freshman last season on a team that went to the Sweet 16 with Acie Law as its star. Now Sloan is a key component. If there was any doubt about the Aggies returning to the NCAA tournament, it was doused on Friday. His teammates celebrated in the locker room almost like he wasn't there. Who prepares kids for moments like this?

"Sloan is a very strong person," teammate Bryan Davis said. "We know what he's going through and we are a family. If he's here or not we're going to try to play the best way we can and know that Sloan wants to be here."