Aaron Mackey, a senior basketball player at the University of Central Arkansas, died in an apartment fire Thursday afternoon outside of Conway.
Mackey, from Little Rock, finished his career at UCA last month and helped the Bears to a 20-10 overall record last season and a berth in the Gulf South Conference Tournament.
?Aaron was as nice a kid as you?d ever want to be around,? said UCA head coach Rand Chappell. ?He was popular among his teammates and just someone you enjoyed seeing on a daily basis.?
?He comes from a great family and was a really good guy.?
Mackey, who played high school basketball at J.A. Fair, played one season for the Bears after transferring from University of Incarnate Word in San Antonio.
?Aaron was an outstanding student-athlete but more importantly, an outstanding young man,? said UCA President Lu Hardin. ?Our prayers go out to his family and we grieve with you.?
Mackey played at UA-Fort Smith in 2000-2001 and then Incarnate Word in 2002 before transferring to UCA in the spring of 2003. He played in 29 games at UCA last season and averaged 4 points and 1.8 rebounds. He was third on the team with 27 three-pointers.
?This is the second active student-athlete we?ve lost this year,? said UCA athletic director Vance Strange. ?This is tough to take. It?s just devastating to all of us.?
Mackey was the son of James and Eleen Mackey.
