Ronny Turiaf’s coaches and many fans in the Inland Northwest exhaled together Tuesday.

After more than six hours in surgery to repair a heart problem, the former Gonzaga University basketball star faces a future that may be brighter than ever.

Cardiovascular surgeon Dr. Craig Miller delivered the best of news to Coach Mark Few, Gonzaga coaches and friends of the charismatic college superstar who’d traveled to Palo Alto, Calif., to lend support prior to the scary surgery. Not only was the surgery successful and the 22-year-old doing well, but the doctor was able to repair Turiaf’s enlarged aortic root without replacing the heart valve. That means there’s a chance Turiaf can resume his basketball career, after all.

It would be wonderful, of course, if the former Zag returns to the court after he recuperates. Many in the region want to see him with superstar Kobe Bryant running a fast break for the Los Angeles Lakers, his trademark hair and beard bouncing with every long stride and his broad grin punctuating slams. The NBA’s tarnished image could use an effervescent young man as a role model. But that’ll have to wait. Turiaf has a long recovery ahead. While that begins, Gonzaga supporters should be thankful that Turiaf’s health problems were found before he launched his pro career.

Coach Few was right when he told sports columnist John Blanchette of The Spokesman-Review: “As hard as this is for Ronny, this is a blessing, too.”

Few blessings come in such strange packages. Yet, detection of the heart problem and Tuesday’s surgery may have saved Turiaf’s life as well as his pro career. According to the medical experts, he was walking around with a time bomb in his chest, an aorta that was 50 percent larger than normal, which increased the possibility of a rupture and the likelihood of a fatal attack within three or four years of normal activity. Pro basketball isn’t normal activity.

Turiaf saw the silver lining in the situation, too – even as he fought anxiety prior to the intensive surgery.

Without basketball, Turiaf realized he still had the ability to make a good living as a result of the degree in sports management and communications he earned while attending Gonzaga on a full-ride scholarship. To his credit, he had the good judgment and sense of loyalty to his teammates and the school to complete his education at the local Jesuit university. Many other talented college players have jumped prematurely to the NBA, and regretted it.

Imagine what might have happened had Turiaf opted for the pros after his junior year and then been sidelined for good by his heart problem. No degree. No fond memories from his fourth and final season, in which he won the West Coast Conference player of the year award and helped inaugurate GU’s McCarthey Athletic Center. No fourth appearance in the NCAA tournament. No final curtain call to seal his place in Gonzaga history as perhaps the most popular Zag ever.

Turiaf has experienced a tough week. But the chances are good that he’ll have many good ones ahead – for a very long time.