Ethan Dietz moved to Violina, Arkansas, as an eighth-grade student. He and Landon Mannion became fast friends.

The first day he ever got to class, he sat beside me and I just started talking some trash to him, and he talked trash back, and I was like, yeah youre my friend, were staying together, Mannion said.

Their friendship carried on through the years, until it was cut short, all too soon. Dietz died Nov. 25.

He was hospitalized after suffering an injury in a Connors State basketball game.

Bill Muse, the head coach of the Cowboys, released a statement honoring Dietz.

Dietz was the kind of player a coach always hopes for. He was talented athletically and academically and he understood the importance of hard work, Muse said, Our hearts and prayers continue to be with Ethans family, f

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