Former Wisconsin Basketball Player Dies In Early 20s After Brutal Fight With Cancer

Former Wisconsin basketball player Walt McGrory has passed away.

McGrory died over the weekend after battling osteosarcoma, an incredibly aggressive form of bone cancer, after being diagnosed in August 2021 at the age of 22, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

The Minnesota native was a dominant high school player coming out of Edina before joining the Badgers in 2017. While McGrory saw limited playing time during his four seasons in Madison, he was known around the program for his infectious personality and being a great locker room guy. The guard was part of Wisconsin's 2020 Big Ten title team.

Now, he's passed away in his early 20s after a two year battle with an incredibly rare and brutal form of cancer.

McGrory posted back in August that he had surgery to remove tumors growing on his left lung.

He also previously posted in November that he was focused on healing, and it was the final public update he provided.

The situation is made even more tragic by the fact head coach Greg Gard seemingly foreshadowed it following a game in November. He told the media at the time, "I first want to start out with something that’s way bigger than tonight’s game, the game of basketball itself. For Badger Nation, those that are out there tuning in, whatever your philosophical, spiritual mode is that you do, if you could send some good thoughts and prayers to Walt McGrory’s way...And Walt, if you are listening or watching with your family, just to let you know we love you here in Madison and are thinking about you and praying for you."

Walt McGrory passes away after battling cancer.

Death is never easy. It changes surviving family members forever. Sometimes the changes are minor. Sometimes the changes are awful.

While it's never easy, losing a young man in his early 20s to cancer is about as brutal as life can get. An elderly person dying is sad.

A young man who should have had decades in front of him dying because of cancer is the definition of a tragedy. Cancer is simply horrific, and there's nothing else you can really say about the disease that has impacted pretty much everyone one way or another.

Our thoughts and prayers are with McGrory's family during this incredibly difficult time.