Alonzo Mourning out indefinitely

MIAMI, Sept. 12 (UPI) -- Miami Heat center Alonzo Mourning will be sidelined indefinitely after his kidney condition deteriorated, the team announced Thursday.

In a brief statement, the team said that recent tests show that Mourning's body chemistry has "fallen below what his doctors feel is an acceptable level to play basketball."

No timetable has been set for his return. Coach Pat Riley planned to discuss the issue at a news conference Friday.

Diagnosed with focal glomerulosclerosis, Mourning missed all but 13 games during the 2000-01 season. The ailment is similar to the one that shortened the career of former San Antonio Spurs forward Sean Elliott, who underwent a transplant in August 1999.

With the disease in remission and his condition bolstered by medication, the 32-year-old Mourning missed just seven games last season and made his seventh All-Star Game appearance. While he averaged 15.7 points and 8.4 rebounds, the Heat finished sixth in the seven-team Atlantic Division at 36-46 and missed the playoffs for the first time since 1995.

A two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, Mourning was selected by the Charlotte Hornets with the second overall pick in the 1992 draft after starring at Georgetown. He spent three seasons with the Hornets, who traded him to Miami in November 1995 in a six-player trade involving Glen Rice and Matt Geiger.

Mourning has career averages of 20.3 points, 9.8 rebounds and 3.0 blocks in 622 games.