LINCOLN PARK, Mich. – Xavier Carter, 15, wasn't just a good basketball player, he was a student favorite for everything from his silly dance moves to how nice he was to the kids who didn't have a lot of friends.
So it's no surprise hundreds turned out in the bleachers on the football field Thursday night to grieve together. Carter was at basketball tryouts for the spring team on Monday when he suddenly collapsed.
He died Tuesday morning at UofM Hospital;he'd suffered a heart attack.
The bleachers glowed with candles as his teachers teared up remembering what they loved about him. His teammates from basketball are crushed. "He just wanted to make the team so bad," Steven Carson told us. "The last thing I told him was 'Good luck and be safe.'"
The boys learned a hard lesson this week; Life can be short. The message isn't lost on them. "I'm gonna work the hardest I've ever worked," Miciah Ramirez said. "Everything is for you bro, love you Xavier."
The family has set up a GoFundMe account at to help pay for medical and funeral expenses