UCA men’s basketball coach Anthony Boone returns to court after deadly heart surgery

CONWAY, Ark. — For Central Arkansas men’s basketball head coach Anthony Boone, his birthday Wednesday and Father’s Day Sunday mean more than ever before. An emergency heart procedure in the middle of the season this winter costed him not only games, but nearly his life.

“Life has always been precious to me,” Boone said on the day he turns 47. “But this time around, with a few months ago not knowing if I’d get to this point… it’s extra special.”

Soon after the Bears began conference plan in January, the former Ole Miss star was at home after practice getting dressed for a funeral when he was suddenly hit with immense pain.

“I felt a pop in my chest,” Boone said. “Almost like a burning sensation going down. I fell to my knees. I was panting and gasping for air. That lasted for about a minute.”

Hospitalized the next day at Conway Regional, Boone would be rushed via ambulance to St. Vincent in Little Rock for surgery on what is known as aortic dissection. Unbeknownst at the time, it would keep the 3rd-year coach off the sideline for the remainder of UCA’s season.

“[My doctor] instructed my wife not to google it,” Boone said, remembering first being told the diagnosis. “Just go to the hospital.”

Aortic dissection is a life-threatening condition in which a tear occurs in the inner layer of the body’s main artery, the aorta. Coach would understand its severity on arrival to the hospital that he’d call home for weeks.

“When they told me the operating room was ready right as they were pulling me out of the ambulance, I realized it was pretty serious,” Boone said. “I kind of had a breakdown moment then, and I told them I’m not ready.”

With his livelihood put at a sharp pause, Boone called his wife before going into surgery. The contents of that phone call, maybe the final one he’d make, would inherently show what the accomplished player and coach valued most.

“I said, ‘what about you and the girls,’” Boone recalled. “I said ‘what about the guys, what about the team.’ She said, ‘listen, you need to get yourself healthy for them. They’ll carry on.’”

“At that point, I was just worried about surviving.”

Six months later, after two successful surgeries and a difficult journey returning to health, Boone is on track to make a full recovery and is now back at practice preparing for the 2023-24 season.

“It makes me more appreciative of life,” Boone said. “More appreciative of my family, more appreciative of the time I have with them, with the team, with all the opportunities I have to make a difference and all the lives I get to be around.”

Watch our story above to hear more from Anthony Boone on the ailment, his recovery, and his reinvigorated love for coaching and life. Also see the story on Final Score this Sunday night, capping off what will surely be a special Father’s Day for the Boone family.