With serious illness behind him, Hofstra's Dan Dwyer rarin' to go

Dan Dwyer was an observer last March when his basketball team at Penn made it to the NCAA Tournament. The 6-8 forward was recovering from intestinal surgery and, being a senior, was afraid that his college basketball career was over.  

Now, with a political science degree from Penn, he’s at Hofstra working on a master's degree in marketing. And  he has another opportunity to reach the NCAA Tournament, this time with the Pride.  

After he played in only eight games with minimal statistics, Dwyer’s season ended last December. After spending Christmas with his family in River Forest, Illinois, Dwyer fell ill upon his return to Philadelphia. He thought he had the flu, but when his stomach pain worsened, he was sent to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.    

Dwyer was diagnosed with a rare malady called Meckel’s diverticulum, a congenital bulge in the lower part of the small intestine. Dr. Benjamin Braslow said he made the diagnosis after exploratory surgery.

 “Two percent of the population would have this anatomic variance that he had,’’ Braslow said. And in most of those people, it's never an issue. They go through their whole life without having any issues related to it.’’

Braslow said Dwyer was fortunate to find treatment before developing more severe complications.

 “He had a complete bowel obstruction which could have led to bowel perforation,’’ the surgeon said. In certain areas [where appropriate medical attention is not available],  that could lead to death, but here he would have had a prolonged hospitalization with medical complications. He could have gotten extremely sick.’’

Dwyer said, “The doctor kind of explained o me it's just kind of a ticking time bomb without me knowing it. The recovery process was probably the hardest part just because I wasn't able to eat or drink. I lost about 30 pounds.’’

His parents flew in to be with him. “He's a formidable human being and he went from being 6-8, 220 pounds to 185,’’ said JJ Dwyer, Dan's ather. “I'm the guy walking behind him [in the hospital corridor] and I see his ribs. e looked like someone from a refugee camp. t was sad.’’

Dwyer, who is back at 220 pounds,  was awarded a medical redshirt, giving him a fifth year of eligibility.  “It was kind of being granted a second life,’’ he said this past week. “Definitely making the best out of a bad situation.’’  

Hofstra became a good fit because of the long-time friendship etween Pride coach Joe Mihalich (whose son, Joe Jr.,  is an assistant at Penn) and  Penn head coach Steve Donahue.

Dwyer returned to Philadelphia on Wednesday, when Hofstra scrimmaged  the Quakers, and had eight points and 10 rebounds.

 “It was awesome seeing him,’’ Donahue said.  The ordeal that he went through was one of the worst I've ever experienced as a coach. The silver lining is he gets to play basketball and he’ll get his [master's degree] with a really good team. He's a very good shot-blocker, very good positional defender, and on offense, he's got a great feel when to ball screen, pass.’’

Mihalich is impressed with what he’s een of Dwyer in the preseason.

“He knows how to play. That's a tribute to the people at Penn,'' Mihalich said. "If you get a player from enn, obviously a great kid and great student and very well coached. Danny’s a special guy. There’s a coaching axiom: Know your role, accept our role, perfect your role.’’

 Dwyer will split time with 6-10 Purdue transfer Jacquil Taylor.  

Dwyer’s ltimate goal is to return to the NCAA Tournament as a player. He wasn't in uniform when 16th-seeded Penn lost to top-seeded Kansas in the first round.

 “I feel like that's every kid's dream when they think of college basketball, getting on the big stage in The Big Dance,’’ he said. 'm hoping we can capture our conference title this year and head back there.’’