BY STEVEN MARCUS
This felt like a feel good story, sure to have a happy ending. The coming holidays only added to the luster. Emanuel Neto's mom would climb aboard a plane in Angola a sickly woman and come to America, to the great medical facility at Stony Brook, and emerge with a transplanted kidney and new lease on life.
Her son wanted to show his mom his life, his America. Manu, as everyone called him, had been in this country for four years but never grew used to or tired of what we take for granted. His coaches said he was thankful for a slice of pizza and a pair of sneakers. He is a throw-your-arms around type of kid because he exudes the genuine enthusiasm that we'd like to see at all levels of sports. He’s not a great player, but is a great leader. That’s why SBU named him captain.
There was this plan that his mom would see him play on Senior Day. She would have recovered by that time and for the first time in his college career, she would see him play in person. That vision was shared by athletic director Jim Fiore even as he feverishly tried to work on a fundraiser to get her here for the transplant.
She died Saturday at 52 and all the plans, all the hopes, all the dreams, were gone. Coach Steve Pikiell said his captain was devastated. So was everyone else who got caught up in the story.