the real loss for unc this weekend

[mrsixer123]

This is very sad news. The student who was the unc mascot was hit by a car while walking at the game site

He was in critical condition, but the poor kid could not pull through

Stuff like this really puts things in perspective

[nodak89]

my prayers go out

God bless

[casualhoya]

horrible story.

best wishes to his family.

[sleepyjackson21]

Very very sad. My condolences to the family.

[mrsixer123]

I did not even pay attention to the fact the ram was not present.

Christ, what a horrible story.

I will say this, i now have a great deal of respect for each player on the unc team. Considering this huge emotional burden, those guys played their hearts out!

U know they wanted to win it all for their fallen mascot.

[Boz]

Wow. I remember them mentioning it during the game, but I had no idea it was that serious. I guess I just didn't pay much attention to that comment in the heat of the action. All I remember is them mentioning the patch they were wearing.

Feel so sorry for that kid and his family, both immediate and extended.

[StPetersburgHoya (Inactive)]

That is very sad. The loss of a child is one of the worst things anyone can go through - my thoughts go out to the family and friends.

[JPM32]

Wow... that's a true tragedy.

My thoughts and prayers go out to him and his family.

[HoyaDestroya02]

News reported he passed... very sad story. Kid had some spark during the mich state game.

[showcase]

One's thoughts have to be with his family and UNC Athletics family as well. A little about the man...

Jason Ray, a North Carolina student who performed as a mascot for the school's basketball team, died three days after being struck by a car hours before an NCAA Tournament game. He was 21.

Ray died Monday morning, said Steve Kirschner, the university's associate athletic director for communications.

Ray had been in critical condition at Hackensack University Medical Center since the accident Friday afternoon. He was hit from behind while walking on a highway shoulder near his Fort Lee hotel after going to a nearby convenience store.

Ray performed as UNC's ram mascot, Rameses. He was scheduled to graduate in May with a major in business administration and a minor in religion. He was in New Jersey for the men's game between North Carolina and Southern California.

...

On Sunday, more than two dozen family members and friends held a bedside vigil for Ray. About 40 people attended a prayer session for him on the UNC campus Sunday afternoon, said Laura Ely, a UNC senior who met Ray early in their freshman year.

Ely recalled in an e-mail how Ray auditioned for the mascot role.

"I remember vividly Jason telling me about trying out for a position as UNC mascot," she wrote. "He was instructed to dress up in costume and walk around the pit and interact with students as if he were at a game interacting with fans. He obviously made a good impression because he was soon accepted and began dressing for games right away."

I hate these tragic losses that put it all back into perspective.

[vcjack]

This should be a lesson to all people who go on roadtrips because you end up walking along highways for a good portion of it.

A terrible tragedy

[Coast2CoastHoya]

A huge loss for the UNC family. From reading a couple articles about him, he sounded like a great student and young man who will be sorely missed. My heart and prayers go out to his family, his schoolmates, and his team.

One story about him showed one of the things that was great about both him and the team he loved:

At 6-foot-5, Jason Ray was such a commanding presence that when UNC coach Roy Williams first met him in the campus gym, he wondered aloud why Ray wasn't on his team.

"I'm too slow and I can't jump," Jason told Williams. "But I can be of assistance in other ways, Coach."

sports.espn.go.com/ncb/ncaatourney07/news/story?id=2812224

[HfieldHoya08]

Such a sad loss, of course my thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends.

I saw the Oregon and Florida mascots wrote on their feet well-wishing messages to him, maybe something similar could be done by the mascots at the Final Four? Just to show appreciation for mascots everywhere and to show all the other schools and mascots' sympathy for this loss.

[hoyarooter]

Sports Guy at the end of his column today printed a letter he received from a student at UNC honoring Jason.

Very, very sad.

[The Stig]

Really tragic. Just awful.

It sounds like he was a great kid, lots of spirit and a true love for his school's team. I definetly noticed his presence in Winston-Salem, and his absence in East Rutherford (even before I heard the terrible news). Any loss of a kid that young is tragic, but for it to happen to a great kid like that is all the worse. I hope he's in a happier place now.

It's also a lesson to cherish what we have. During this past weekend a lot of Hoya Blue people were walking along and across the road around our hotel, and it could have just as easily been one of us that was hit. It's just dumb luck. Be sure to cherish those around you while they're here, because you never know when their time will be up.