Longtime Chicago Basketball Coach Donnie Kirksey Dies After Fight With COVID-19

CHICAGO (CBS) -- The Chicago basketball community has lost a key member of the family.The Chicago basketball community has lost a key member of the family.

Donnie Kirksey most recently had been the head basketball coach at Chicago Vocational Career Academy. He died Monday after a fight with COVID-19.

Kirksey had been part of Chicago basketball at several high schools for more than 40 years.

He was just 57 years old.

Kirksey also served a stint as an assistant coach for the UIC Flames. He was on the bench from 2010 to 2014, and helped UIC reach the postseason in 2013 for the first time in nine years.

The UIC Flames mourned Kirksey's loss in a tweet Monday.

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