Celebrated Michigan fan dies after cancer battle

Former precocious schoolhouse shot standout and celebrated Michigan Wolverines instrumentality Dametrius "Meechie" Walker died connected Friday aft a two-year conflict with osteosarcoma, a benignant of bony cancer, the schoolhouse announced.

He is survived by his mother, Leona Bell, and son, Kymere.

Walker was a standout antiaircraft extremity astatine Muskegon High School successful Muskegon, Michigan and had garnered attraction and assistance offers from Kentucky, Michigan State and a fewer MAC schools. He was arrogant of that accomplishment, but his imagination was to 1 time play for Michigan.

"The team, the coaching staff, conscionable the mode they did things," Walker told ESPN's Gene Wojciechowski successful October. "The mode they transportation themselves, I conscionable emotion that astir them."

As Walker was moving person to his extremity of receiving a assistance connection from the Wolverines, his full satellite changed. In Nov., 2020, aft noticing a bump connected his knee, Walker was diagnosed with osteosarcoma.

He endured country and 9 months of chemo, but the crab returned successful 2021. In April, 2021, the tumor had grown excessively ample and doctors amputated his near leg. Despite removing the tumor and his leg, the crab continued to spread.

The quality that the erstwhile precocious schoolhouse shot subordinate was warring for his beingness yet dispersed to the Michigan shot squad and caput manager Jim Harbaugh. The squad invited Walker to signifier connected August, 13, 2022 to conscionable the squad and consciousness the joyousness of being a portion of the Wolverines program.

"Meechie was hurting truthful atrocious that day," Bell said to Wojciechowsi. "His full assemblage was conscionable successful excruciating symptom and helium conscionable smiled similar thing ever happened. Like helium wasn't adjacent successful pain."

His parent called it the occurrence of Michigan, that his Michigan sojourn woke him up contempt the symptom and deterioration helium had experienced successful the waning months.

He mislaid 70 pounds and slipped successful and retired of consciousness connected a regular basis. He was warring each time and told Wojciechowski that helium knew helium had to beryllium beardown for his two-year-old son.

"I effort my hardest to amusement him that Daddy is successful pain," Walker said astatine the time. "But Daddy volition ever emotion you and I volition ever beryllium present until the time I die."

Walker was invited to be Michigan's crippled against Maryland connected Sep. 24. Donning a signed Michigan jersey with his nickname, Meechie, connected the back, helium was wheeled connected to the tract arsenic helium was announced implicit the large speaker.

The fans had heard his communicative and knew what it meant for him to beryllium considered arsenic portion of the Michigan team. Wiping tears distant from his eyes, helium scanned the assemblage and waved with implicit 100,000 fans cheering for him.

There's thing rather similar experiencing a crippled successful the Big House, and we're arrogant to stock that acquisition with Meechie!#GoBlue pic.twitter.com/ydw8h7XWZ6

Harbaugh said the squad had dedicated that game, which they won 34-27, to Walker. He was fixed the crippled shot successful the locker country aft the crippled and the squad celebrated the triumph arsenic if helium had ever been a portion of the team. Walker mislaid his conflict with crab connected Dec. 9, and an outpour of memories and heartfelt messages were shared connected societal media by teammates, coaches and Michigan players.

Punter Brad Robbins tweeted, "Love you Meechie," with a connection astir the nonaccomplishment of his friend.

"We mislaid a existent embodiment of what it means to beryllium a Michigan Man. Meechie and I texted play astir his acquisition and outlook connected life," Robbins wrote. "Whenever helium was successful our installation and astir our team, helium was truthful affirmative and ever had a immense grin connected his face."